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ONLY AUTHENTIC PORTRAIT OF

WILHELM HEINRICH SEBASTIAN VON TROOMP

(FROM THE OIL PAINTING;.

MARVELLOUS

^ /

UNDERGROUND

JOURNEY

INGERSOLL LOCKWOOD

* *

AUTHOR OF “ TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF LITTLE BARON TRUMP AND HIS WONDERFUL DOG
BULGER ” “ WONDERFUL DEEDS AND DOINGS OF LITTLE GIANT BOAB AND HIS
TALKING RAVEN TABIB ” “EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCES OF LITTLE
CAPTAIN DOPPELKOP ON THE SHORES OF BUBBLELAND ” ETC.

ILLUSTRATED BY

CHARLES HOWARD JOHNSON

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n o »

BOSTON

OCT lA

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/^vK

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS

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10 MILK STREET

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COPYKIGHT, 1892, BY INGERSOLL LOCKWOOD

Marvellous Underground Journey

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF WILHELM HEINRICH
SEBASTIAN VON TROOMP, COMMONLY
CALLED LITTLE BxlRON TRUMP

As doubting Thomases seem to take particular pleasure in
popping up on all occasions, Jack-in-the-Box-like, it may be well
to head them off in this particular instance by proving that
Baron Trump was a real baron, and not a mere baron of the
mind. The family was originally French Huguenot — De la
Trompe — which, upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in
1685, took refuge in Holland, where its head assumed the name
of Van der Troomp, just as many other of the French Protes-
tants rendered their names into Dutch. Some years later, upon
the invitation of the Elector of Brandenburg, Niklas Van der
Troomp became a subject of that prince, and purchased a large
estate in the province of Pomerania, again changing his name,
this time to Von Troomp.

The “Little Baron,” so called from his diminutive stature,
was born some time in the latter part of the seventeenth century.
He was the last of his race in the direct line, although cousins
of his are to-day well-known Pomeranian gentry. He began
his travels at an incredibly early age, and filled his castle with
such strange objects picked up here and there in the far away
corners of the^orld, that the simple-minded peasantry came to
look upon him as half bigwig and half magician — hence the

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE

growth of the many myths and fanciful stories concerning this
indefatigable ""globe-trotter. The date of his death cannot be
fixed with any certainty ; but this much may be said : Among
the portraits of Pomeranian notables hanging in the Rathhaus
at Stettin, there is one picturing a man of low stature, and with
a head much too large for his body. He is dressed in some out-
landish costume, and holds in his left hand a grotesque image
in ivory, most elaborately carved. The broad face is full of intel-
ligence, and the large gray eyes are lighted up with a good-
natured but quizzical look that invariably attracts attention.
The man's right hand rests upon the back of a dog sitting on a
table and looking straight out with an air of dignity that shows
that he knew he was sitting for his portrait.

If a visitor asks the guide who this man is, he always gets for
answer : —

“ Oh, that’s the Little Baron ! ”

But little Baron who, that’s the question ?

Why may it not be the famous Wilhelm Heinrich Sebastian
von Troomp, commonly called “ Little Baron Trump,” and his
wonderful dog Bulger ?

CONTE^JTS

CHAPTER L

PAGE

BULGER IS GREATLY ANNOYED BY THE FAMILIARITY OF THE
VILLAGE DOGS AND THE PRESUMPTION OF THE HOUSE CATS.

HIS HEALTH SUFFERS THEREBY, AND HE IMPLORES ME

TO SET OUT ON MY TRAVELS AGAIN. I READILY CONSENT,

FOR I HAD BEEN READING OF THE WORLD WITHIN A
WORLD IN A MUSTY OLD MS. WRITTEN BY THE LEARNED

DON FUM. PARTING INTERVIEWS WITH THE ELDER BARON

AND THE GRACIOUS BARONESS MY MOTHER. PREPARA-
TIONS FOR DEPARTURE 1

CHAPTER II.

DON FUm’s mysterious DIRECTIONS. BULGER AND I SET

OUT FOR PETERSBURG, AND THENCE PROCEED TO ARCHAN-
GEL. THE STORY OF OUR JOURNEY AS FAR AS ILITCH

ON THE ILITCH. IVAN THE TEAMSTER. HOW WE MADE

OUR WAY NORTHWARD IN SEARCH OF THE PORTALS TO

THE WORLD WITHIN A WORLD. IVAn’s THREAT. BUL-

GER’s distrust of the man and other THINGS ... 7

CHAPTER III.

IVAN MORE AND MORE TROUBLESOME. BULGER WATCHES HIM

CLOSELY. HIS COWARDLY ATTACK UPON ME. MY FAITH-
FUL BULGER TO THE RESCUE. A DRIVER WORTH HAVING.

HOW I WAS CARRIED TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. IN

THE HANDS OF OLD YULIANA. THE GIANTS’ WELL . . 15

CHAPTER IV.

MY WOUND HEALS. — YULIANA TALKS ABOUT THE GIANTs’

WELL. I RESOLVE TO VISIT IT. PREPARATIONS TO AS-
CEND THE MOUNTAINS. WHAT HAPPENED TO YULIANA

AND TO ME. REFLECTION AND THEN ACTION. HOW I

CONTRIVED TO CONTINUE THE ASCENT WITHOUT YULIANA

FOR A GUIDE 20

vii

V"lll

CONTENTS

CHAPTER V.

UP AND STILL UP, AND THROUGH THE QUARRIES OF THE

DEMONS. HOW THE CATTLE KEPT THE TRAIL, AND HOW

WE CAME AT LAST UPON THE P.RINK OF THE GIANTS’ WELL.

THE TERRACES ARE SAFELY PASSED. BEGINNING OF

THE DESCENT INTO THE WELL ITSELF. ALL DIFFICUL-
TIES OVERCOME. WE REACH THE EDGE OF POLYPHEMUS’

FUNNEL

CHAPTER VI.

MV DESPAIR UPON FINDING THE PIPE OF THE FUNNEL TOO

SMALL FOR MY BODY. A RAY OF HOPE BREAKS IN UPON

ME. FULL ACCOUNT OF HOW I SUCCEEDED IN ENTERING

THE PIPE OF THE FUNNEL. MY PASSAGE THROUGH IT.

Bulger’s timely aid. — the marble highway and
SOME curious things CONCERNING THE ENTR.\NCE TO THE
WORLD WITHIN A WORLD 33

CHAPTER VII.

OUR FIRST NIGHT IN THE UNDER WORLD, AND HOW IT WAS

FOLLOWED BY THE FIRST BREAK OF DAY. BULGEr’s

WARNING AND WHAT IT MEANT. WE FALL IN WITH AN

INHABITANT OF THE WORLD WITHIN A WORLD. HIS

NAME AND CALLING. MYSTERIOUS RETURN OF NIGHT.

THE LAND OF BEDS, AND HOW OUR NEW FRIEND PROVIDED
ONE FOR US 42

CHAPTER VIII.

“good-morning AS LONG AS IT LASTS.” PLAIN TALK FROM

MASTER COLD SOUL. WONDERS OF GOGGLE LAND. WE

ENTER THE CITY OF THE MIKKAMENKIES. BRIEF DE-
SCRIPTION OF IT. OUR APPROACH TO THE ROYAL P.ALACE.

QUEEN GALAXA AND HER CRYSTAL THRONE. MASTER

COLD soul’s tears 51

■v

CHAPTER IX.

BULGER AND I ARE PRESENTED TO QUEEN GALAXA, THE LADY

OF THE CRYSTAL THRONE. HOW SHE RECEIVED US. HER

DELIGHT OVER BULGER, WHO GIVES PROOF OF HIS WON-
DERFUL INTELLIGENCE IN MANY WAVS. HOW THE QUEEN

CREATES HIM LORD BULGER. ALL ABOUT THE THREE WISE

MEN IN WHOSE CARE WE ARE PLACED BV QUEEN GALAXA . 56

PACK

CONTENTS

CHAPTER X.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF MY CONVERSATIONS WITH DOCTOR NEBU-
LOSUS, SIR AMBER o’PAKE, AND LORD CORNUCOREj WHO
TELL ME MANY THINGS THAT I NEVER KNEW BEFORE, FOR
WHICH I WAS VERY GRATEFUL

CHAPTER XL

PLEASANT DAYS PASSED AMONG THE MIKKAMENKIES, AND WON-
DERFUL THINGS SEEN BY US. THE SPECTRAL GARDEN,

AND A DESCRIPTION OF IT. OUR MEETING WITH DAMOZEL

GLOW STONE, AND WHAT CAME OF IT

CHAPTER XII.

THE SAD, SAD TALE OF THE SORROWING PRINCESS WITH A SPECK
IN HER HEART, AND WHAT ALL HAPPENED WHEN SHE HAD
ENDED IT, WHICH THE READER MUST READ FOR HIMSELF
IF HE WOULD KNOW

CHAPTER XIIL

HOW I SET TO WORK TO UNDO A WRONG THAT HAD BEEN DONE
IN THE KINGDOM OF THE MIKKAMENKIES, AND HOW BUL-
GER HELPED. QUEEN GALAXA^S CONFESSION. — I AM

CREATED PRIME MINISTER AS LONG AS SHE LIVES. — WHAT

TOOK PLACE IN THE THRONE-ROOM. MV SPEECH TO THE

MEN OF GOGGLE LAND, AFTER WHICH I SHOW THEM SOME-
THING WORTH SEEING. — HOW I WAS PULLED IN TWO DIF-
FERENT DIRECTIONS AND WHAT CAME OF IT

CHAPTER XIV.

BULGER AND I TURN OUR BACKS ON THE FAIR DOMAIN OF
QUEEN CRYSTALLINA. — NATURE’S WONDERFUL SPEAKING-

TUBE. CRYSTALLINA’S ATTEMPT TO TURN US BACK.

HOW I KEPT BULGER FROM YIELDING. — SOME INCIDENTS
OF OUR JOURNEY ALONG THE MARBLE HIGHWAY, AND HOW
WE CAME TO THE GLORIOUS GATEWAY OF SOLID SILVER . .

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XV.

THE GUARDS AT THE SILVER GATEWAV. WHAT THEY WERE

LxKE. OUR RECEPTION BY THEM. I MAKE A WONDER-
FUL DISCOVERY, THE WORLD^S FIRST TELEPHONE. BUL-

GER AND I SUCCEED IN MAKING FRIENDS WITH THESE

STRANGERS. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SOODOPSIES,

THAT IS, MAKE BELIEVE EYES, OR THE FORMIFOLK, THAT

IS, ANT PEOPLE. HOW A BLIND MAN MAY READ YOUR

WRITING

CHAPTER XVL

IDEAS OF THE FORMIFOLK CONCERNING OUR UPPER WORLD. —

THE DANCING SPECTRE. THEIR EFFORTS TO LAY HOLD

OF HIM. MY SOLEMN PROMISE THAT HE SHOULD BEHAVE

HIMSELF. WE SET OUT FOR THE CITY OF THE MAKE-

BELIEVE EYES. MY AMAZEMENT AT THE MAGNIFICENCE

OF THE APPROACHES TO IT. — WE REACH THE GREAT
BRIDGE OF SILVER, AND I GET MY FIRST GLANCE OF THE
CITY OF CANDELABRA. — BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE WONDERS

SPREAD OUT BEFORE MY EYES. EXCITEMENT OCCASIONED

BY OUR ARRIVAL. OUR SILVER BED-CHAMBER .... 98

CHAPTER XVII.

IN WHICH YOU READ, DEAR FRIENDS, SOMETHING ABOUT A
LIVE ALARM CLOCK AND A SOODOPSY BATHER AND RUBBER.

OUR FIRST BREAKFAST IN THE CITY OF SILVER. A

NEW WAY TO CATCH FISH WITHOUT HURTING THEIR FEEL-
INGS. HOW THE STREETS AND HOUSES WERE NUMBERED,

AND WHERE THE SIGNBOARDS WERE. A VERY ORIGINAL

LIBRARY IN WHICH BOOKS NEVER GET DOG-EARED. HOW

VELVET SOLES ENJOY'ED HER FAVORITE POETS. I AM PRE-

SENTED TO THE LEARNED BARREL BROW, WHO PROCEEDS
TO GIVE ME HIS VIEWS OF THE UPPER WORLD. THEY EN-
TERTAINED ME AMAZINGLY AND MAY INTEREST YOU . . . 104

CHAPTER XVIII.

EARLY HISTORY OF THE SOODOPSIES AS RELATED BY BARREL
BROW. — HOW THEY WERE DRIVEN TO TAKE REFUGE IN
THE UNDER WORLD, AND HOW THEY CAME UPON THE
MARBLE HIGHWAY. — THEIR DISCOVERY OF NATURAL GAS

PAGE

CONTENTS

WHICH YIELDS THEM LIGHT AND WARMTH, AND OF NA-
TURE’S MAGNIFICENT TREASURE HOUSE. HOW THEY RE-

PLACED THEIR TATTERED GARMENTS AND BEGAN TO BUILD

THE CITY OF SILVER. THE STRANGE MISFORTUNES THAT

CAME UPON THEM, AND HOW THEY ROSE SUPERIOR TO
THEM, TERRIBLE AS THEY WERE

CHAPTER XIX.

BEGINS WITH SOMETHING ABOUT THE LITTLE SOODOPSIES, BUT

BRANCHES OFF ON ANOTHER SUBJECT; TO WIT; THE

SILENT SONG OF SINGING FINGERS, THE FAIR MAID OF THE

CITY OF SILVER. BARREL BROW IS KIND ENOUGH TO

ENLIGHTEN ME ON A CERTAIN POINT, AND HE TAKES OCCA-
SION TO PAY BULGER A VERY HIGH COMPLIMENT, WHICH,

OF COURSE, HE DESERVED 123

PAGE

114

CHAPTER XX.

THIS IS A LONG AND A SAD CHAPTER. IT TELLS HOW DEAR,

GENTLE, POUTING-LIP WAS LOST, AND HOW THE SOODOPSIES

GRIEVED FOR HIM AND WHOM THEY SUSPECTED. BULGER

GIVES A STRIKING PROOF OF HIS WONDERFUL INTELLI-
GENCE WHICH ENABLES ME TO CONVINCE THE SOODOPSIES
THAT MY DANCING SPECTRE ” DID NOT CAUSE POUTING-

LIP’S DEATH. THE TRUE TALE OF HIS TERRIBLE FATE.

WHAT FOLLOWS MY DISCOVERY. HOW A BEAUTIFUL BOAT

IS BUILT FOR ME BY THE GRATEFUL SOODOPSIES, ’AND HOW
BULGER AND I BID ADIEU TO THE LAND OF THE MAKE-
BELIEVE EYES 129

CHAPTER XXI.

HOW WE WERE LIGHTED ON OUR WAY DOWN THE DARK AND

SILENT RIVER. SUDDEN AND FIERCE ONSLAUGHT UPON

OUR BEAUTIFUL BOAT OF SHELL. A FIGHT FOR LIFE

AGAINST TERRIBLE ODDS, AND HOW BULGER STOOD BY ME

Through it all. — cold air and lumps of ice. — our

ENTRY INTO THE CAVERN WHENCE THEY CAME. THE

BOAT OF SHELL COMES TO THE END OF ITS VOYAGE. SUN-

LIGHT IN THE WORLD WITHIN A AVORLD, AND ALL ABOUT
THE WONDERFUL WINDOW THROUGH WHICH IT POURED,

AND THE MYSTERIOUS LAND IT LIGHTED 140

Xll

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXIL

PAGE

THE PALACE OF ICE IN THE GOLDEN SUNLIGHT, AND WHAT I

IMAGINED IT MIGHT CONTAIN. HOW WE WERE HALTED

BV A COUPLE OF QUAINTLY CLAD SENTINELS. THE KOLTV-

KWERPS. — HIS FRIGID MAJESTY KING GELIDUS. MORE

ABOUT THE ICE PALACE, TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION

OF THE THRONE-ROOM. OUR RECEPTION BY THE KING

AND HIS DAUGHTER SCHNEEBOULE. BRIEF MENTION OF

BULLIBRAIN, OR LORD HOT HEAD 150

CHAPTER XXIIL

LORD HOT HEAD AGAIN, AND THIS TIME A FULLER ACCOUNT OF

HIM. HIS WONDROUS TALES CONCERNING THE KOLTY-

KWERPS: WHERE THEY CAME FROM, WHO THEY WERE, AND
HOW THEY MANAGED TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD OF ETERNAL

FROST. THE MANY QUESTIONS I PUT TO HIM, AND HIS

ANSWERS IN FULL 159

CHAPTER XXIV.

SOME FEW THINGS CONCERNING THE DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS

SCHNEEBOULE. HOW SHE AND I BECAME FAST FRIENDS,

AND HOW ONE DAY SHE CONDUCTED BULGER AND ME INTO
HER FAVORITE GROTTO TO SEE THE LITTLE MAN WITH THE

FROZEN SMILE. SOMETHING ABOUT HIM. WHAT CAME

OF MY HAVING LOOKED UPON HIM QUITE FULLY DESCRIBED, 164

CHAPTER XXV.

A SLEEPLESS NIGHT FOR BULGER AND ME AND WHAT FOLLOWED

IT. INTERVIEW WITH KING GELIDUS. MY REQUEST AND

HIS REPLY. WHAT ALL TOOK PLACE WHEN I LEARNED

THAT THE KING AND HIS COUNCILLORS HAD DECIDED NOT

TO GRANT MY REQUEST. STRANGE TUMULT AMONG THE

KOLTYKWERPS, AND HOW HIS FRIGID MAJESTY STILLED IT,

AND SOME OTHER THINGS 171

CONTENTS

Xlll

CHAPTER XXVI.

PAGE

HOW THE QUARRY MEN OF KING GELIDUS CLEFT ASUNDER THE
CRYSTAL PRISON OF THE LITTLE MAN WITH THE FROZEN

SMILE. MY BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT, AND HOW I BORE

IT. WONDERFUL HAPPENINGS OF THE NIGHT THAT FOL-
LOWED, BULGER AGAIN PROVES HIMSELF TO BE AN ANI-
MAL OF EXTRAORDINARY SAGACITY 176

CHAPTER XXVII.

EXCITEMENT OVER FUFFCOOJAH. I CARRY HIM TO THE COURT

OF KING GELIDUS. HIS INSTANT AFFECTION FOR PRIN-
CESS SCHNEEBOULE. I AM ACCUSED OF EXERCISING THE

BLACK ART. MY DEFENCE AND MY REWARD. ANXIETY

OF THE KOLTYKWERPS LEST FUFFCOOJAH PERISH OF

HUNGER. THIS CALAMITY AVERTED, ANOTHER STARES US

IN THE FACE : HOW TO KEEP HIM FROM FREEZING TO

DEATH. I SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT DRAW UPON ME A

STRANGE MISFORTUNE 183

CHAPTER XXVIII.

HOW A LITTLE BURDEN MAY GROW TO BE A GRIEVOUS ONE. —
STORY OF A MAN WITH A MONKEY IN HIS HOOD. MY TER-
RIBLE SUFFERING. CONCERNING THE AWFUL PANIC THAT

SEIZED UPON THE KOLTYKWERPS. MY VISIT TO THE DE-

SERTED ICE-PALACE, AND WHAT HAPPENED TO FUFFCOO-
JAH. END OF HIS BRIEF BUT STRANGE CAREER. A

FROZEN KISS ON A BLADE OF HORN, OR HOW SCHNEEBOULE
CHOSE A HUSBAND 190

CHAPTER XXIX.

SOMETHING CONCERNING THE MANY PORTALS TO THE ICY DO-
MAIN OF KING GELIDUS AND THE DIFFICULT TASK OF

CHOOSING THE RIGHT ONE. HOW BULGER SOLVED IT.

OUR FAREWELL TO THE COLD-BLOODED KOLTYKWERPS.

SCHNEEBOULE'S SORROW AT LOSING US 198

XIV

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ' XXX.

PAGE

ALL ABOUT THE MOST TERRIBLE BUT MAGXIFICENT RIDE I
EVER TOOK IN MV LIFE. — NINETY MILES ON THE BACK OF
A FLYING MASS OF ICE, AND HOW BULGER AND I WERE
LANDED AT LAST ON THE BANKS OF A MOST WONDERFUL
RIVER. HOW THE DAY BROKE IN THIS UNDER WORLD . . 205

CHAPTER XXXI.

IN WHICH YOU READ OF THE GLORIOUS CAVERNS OF WHITE

MARBLE FRONTING ON THE WONDERFUL RIVER. IN THE

TROPICS OF THE UNDER WORLD. HOW WE CAME UPON A

SOLITARY WANDERER ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER. MY

CONVERSATION WITH HIM, AND MY JOY AT FINDING MY-
SELF IN THE LAND OF THE RATTLEBRAINS, OR HAPPY FOR-
GETTERS. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEM 211

CHAPTER XXXII.

HOW WE ENTERED THE LAND OF THE HAPPY FORGETTERS.

SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THESE CURIOUS FOLK. THEIR

DREAD OF BULGER AND ME. ONLY A STAY OF ONE DAY'

ACCORDED US. — DESCRIPTION OF THE PLEASANT HOMES

OF THE HAPPY' FORGETTERS. THE REVOLVING DOOR

THROUGH WHICH BULGER AND I ARE UNCEREMONIOUSLY'

SET OUTSIDE OF THE DOMAIN OF THE RATTLEBRAINS. ALL

ABOUT THE EXTRAORDINARY' THINGS WHICH HAPPENED TO

BULGER AND ME THEREAFTER. ONCE MORE IN THE OPEN

AIR OF THE UPPER WORLD, AND THEN HOMEWARD BOUND, 218

ILLUSTEATIONS.

PAGE

Only Authentic Portrait of Wilhelm Heinrich Sebastian von Troomp

(from the oil painting) Frontispiece

Departure from Castle Trump . 9

Along a Highway of the Under World 23

Before her Majesty Galaxa, Queen of the Mikkamenkies ... 35

A Dinner easily provided for 47

Princess Crystallina uncovers her Heart 59

Crystallina’s Heart on a Screen . 71

Bulger parts his Master from Princess Crystallina .... 83

The Formifolk try the Beat of the Baron’s Heart b}’ Telejjhone . 95

Barrel Brow engaged in reading Four Books at once . . . 107

A Soodopsy Maiden reading her Favorite Poet . . . . 119

The Gigantic Tortoise that devoured Pouting Lip .... 131

Sailing away from the Land of the Soodopsies .... 143

The Battle for Life with the White Crabs 155

The Little Man with the Frozen Smile 167

Bulger shows the Baron Something Wonderful 179

The Baron’s Flight to the lee Palace . . . . . . 191

Death of FutFeoojah .......... 197

Koltykwerpian Quarrymen hewing a Passage through the Wall of Ice 203
The Wonderful Ride on the Block of Ice ..... 207

The Tro23ics of the Under World .213

Through the Revolving Door 219

Caught up in the Arms of the Torrent 225

Hurled out in the Sunshine 231

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND
JOURNEY

CHAPTER I

BULGER IS GREATLY ANNOYED BY THE FAMILIARITY OF THE
VILLAGE DOGS AND THE PRESUMPTION OF THE HOUSE CATS. —
HIS HEALTH SUFFERS THEREBY, AND HE IMPLORES ME TO
SET OUT ON MY" TRAVELS AGAIN. I READILY CONSENT, FOR I
HAD BEEN READING OF THE WORLD WITHIN A WORLD IN A
MUSTY OLD MS. WRITTEN BY THE LEARNED DON FUM. — PART-
ING INTERVIEWS WITH THE ELDER BARON AND THE GRACIOUS
BARONESS MY MOTHER. — PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE.

Bulger was not himself at all, dear friends. There was a
lack-lustre look in his eyes, and his tail responded with only
a half-hearted wag when I spoke to him. I say half-hearted, for
I always had a notion ifiat the other end of Bulger’s tail was;
fastened to his heart. His appetite, too, had gone down with
his spirits ; and he rarely did anything more than sniff at the
dainty food which I set before him, although I tried to tempt
him with fried chickens’ livers and toasted cocks’ combs — two
of Ids favorite dishes.

There was evidently something on his mind, and yet it never
occurred to me what that something was ; for to be honest about
it, it was something which of all things I never should have
dreamed of finding there.

Possibly I might have discovered at an earlier day what it
was all about, had it not been that just at this time I was very
busy, too busy, in fact, to pay much attention to any one, even

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

to my dear four-footed foster brother. As you may remember,
dear friends, my brain is a very active one ; and when once I
become interested in a subject, Castle Trump itself might take
tire and burn until the legs of my chair had become charred
before I would hear the noise and confusion, or even smell the
smoke.

It so happened at the time of Bulger’s low spirits that the
elder baron had, through the kindness of an old school friend,
come into possession of a fifteenth-century manuscript from the
pen of a no less celebrated thinker and philosopher than the
learned Spaniard, Don Constantino Bartolomeo Strepholofidge-
guaneriusfum, commonly known among scholars as Don Fum,
entitled “A World within a World.” In this work Don Fum
advanced the wonderful theory that there is every reason to
believe that the interior of our world is inhabited ; that, as is
well known, this vast earth ball is not solid, on the contrary,
being in many places quite hollow ; that ages and ages ago ter-
rible disturbances had taken place on its surface and had driven
the inhabitants to seek refuge in these vast underground cham-
bers, so vast, in fact, as well to merit the name of “ World within
a World.”

This book, with its crumpled, torn, and time-stained leaves
exhaling the odors of vaulted crypt and worm-eaten chest, exer-
cised a peculiar fascination upon me. ■ All day long, and often
far into the night, I sat poring over its musty and mildewed
pages, quite forgetful of this surface world, and with the plum-
met of thought sounding these subterranean depths, and with
the eye and ear of fancy visiting them, and gazing upon and
listening to the dwellers therein.

While I would be thus engaged, Bulger’s favorite position
was on a quaintly embroidered leather cushion brought from the
Orient by me on one of my journeys, and now placed on the end
of my work-table nearest the window. From this point of van-
tage Bulger commanded a full view of the park and the terrace
and of the drive leading up to the porte-cochere. Nothing

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

escaped his watchful eye. Here he sat hour by hour, amusing
himself by noting the comings and goings of all sorts of folk,
from the hawkers of gewgaws to the noblest people in the shire.
One day my attention was attracted by his suddenly leaping
down from his cushion and giwng a low growl of displeasure.
I paid little heed to it, but to my surprise the next day about
the same hour it occurred again.

My curiosity was now thoroughly aroused ; and laying down
Don Fum’s musty manuscript, I hastened to the window to learn
the cause of Bulger's irritation.

Lo, the secret was out ! There stood half a dozen mongrel
curs belonging to the tenantry of the baronial lands, looking up
to the window, and by their barking and antics endeavoring to
entice Bulger out for a romp. Dear friends, need I assure you
that such familiarity was extremely distasteful to Bulger?
Their impudence was just a little more than he could stand.
Ringing my bell, I directed my servant to hunt them away.
Whereupon Bulger consented to resume his seat by the window.

The next morning, just as I had settled myself down for a
good long read, I was almost startled by Bulger bounding into
the room with eyes flashing fire and teeth laid bare in anger.
Laying hold of the skirt of my dressing-gown, he gave it quite a
savage tug, which meant, “Put thy book aside, little master,
and follow me.”

I did so. He led me down-stall's across the hallway and into
the dining-room, and then this new cause of discontent on his
part became very apparent to me. There grouped around his sil-
ver breakfast plate sat an ancient tabby cat and four kittens, all
calmly licking or lapping away at his breakfast. Looking up
into my face, he uttered a sharp, complaining howl, as much as
to say, “ There, little master, look at that. Isn't that enough
to roil the patience of a saint ? Canst thou wonder that I am
not happy with all these disagreeable things happening to me ?
I tell thee, little master, it is too much for flesh and blood to
put up with.”

A MAHVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

And I thought so too, and did all in my power to comfort my
unhappy little friend ; but judge of my surprise upon reaching
my room and directing him to take his place on his cushion, to
see him refuse to obey.

It was something extraordinary, and set me to thinking. He
noticed this and gave a joyful bark, then dashed into my sleep-
ing apartment. He was gone for several moments, and then
returned bearing in his mouth a pair of Oriental shoes which he
laid at my feet. Again and again he disappeared, coming back
each time with some article of clothing in his mouth. In a few
moments he had laid a complete Oriental costume on the floor
before my eyes ; and Avould you believe me, dear friends, it was
the identical suit which I had worn on my last travels in far-
away lands, when he and I had been wrecked on the Island of
Gogulah, the land of the Round Bodies. What did it all mean ?
Why, this, to be sure : —

“ Little master, canst thou not understand thy dear Bulger ?
He is weary of this dull and spiritless existence. He is tired of
this increasing familiarity on the part of these mongrel curs of
the neighborhood and of the audacity of these kitchen tabbies
and their families. He implores thee to break away from this
life of revery and inaction, and for the honor of the Trumps to
be up and away again.”’ Stooping down and winding my arms
around my dear Bulger, I cried out, —

“ Yes, I understand thee now, faithful companion ; and I
promise thee that before this moon has filled her horns we shall
once more turn our backs on Castle Trump, up and away in
search of the portals to Don Fum’s World within a World.”
Upon hearing these words, Bulger broke out into the wildest,
maddest barking, bounding hither and thither as if the very
spirit of mischief had suddenly nestled in his heart. In the
midst of these mad gambols a low rap on my chamber door
caused me to call out, —

“ Peace, peace, good Bulger, some one knocks. Peace, I

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

It was the elder baron. With sombre mien and stately tread
he advanced and took a seat beside me on the canopy.

“ Welcome, honored father ! ” I exclaimed as I took his hand
and raised it to my lips. “ I was upon the very point of seeking
thee out.”

He smiled and then said, —

“Well, little baron, what thinkest thou of Don Fum’s World
within a World? ”

“ I think, my lord,” was my reply, “that Don Fum is right:
that such a world must exist ; and with thy consent it is my
intention to set out in search of its portals with all safe haste
and as soon as my dear mother, the gracious baroness, may be
able to bring her heart to part with me.”

The elder baron was silent for a moment, and then added :
“ Little baron, much as thy mother and I shall dread to think
of thy being again out from under the safe protection of this
venerable roof, the moss-grown tiles of which have sheltered so
many generations of the Trumps, yet must we not be selfish in
this matter. Heaven forbid that such a thought should move
our souls to stay thee ! The honor of our family, thy fame as
an explorer of strange lands in far-away corners of the globe, call
unto us to be strong hearted. Therefore, my dear boy, make
ready ai;d go forth once more in search of new marvels. The
learned Don Fum’s chart will stand thee by like a safe and
trusty counsellor. Remember, little baron, the motto of the
Trumps, Per Ardua ad Astra — the pathway to glory is strewn
with pitfalls and dangers — but the comforting thought shall ever
be mine, that when thy keen intelligence fails, Bulger’s unerr-
ing instinct will be there to guide thee.”

As I stooped to kiss the elder baron’s hand, the graeious
baroness entered the room.

Bulger hastened to raise himself upon his hind legs and lick
her hand in token of respectful greeting. The tears were
pressing hard against her eyelids, but she kept them back, and
encircling my neck with her loving arms, she pressed many and
many a kiss upon my cheeks and brow.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY.

“ I know what it all means, my dear son,” she murmured with
the saddest of smiles ; “ but it never shall be said that Gertrude
Baroness von Trump stood in the way of her son adding new
glories to the family ’scutcheon. Go, go, little baron, and
Heaven bring thee safely back to our arms and to our hearts in
its own good time.”

At these words Bulger, who had been listening to the conver-
sation with pricked-up earn and glistening eyes, gave one long
howl of joy, and then springing into my lap, covered my face with
kisses. This done, he vented his happiness in a string of ear-
splitting barks and a series of the maddest gambols. It was one
of the happiest and proudest days of his life, for he felt that he
had exerted considerable influence in screwing to the sticking-
point my resolution to set out on my travels once again.

And now the patter of hurrying feet and the loud murmur
of anxious voices resounded through the castle corridors, while
inside and out ever and anon I could hear the cry now
whispered and now outspoken, —

“ The little baron is making ready to leave home again.”

Bulger ran hither and thither, surveying everything, taking
note of all the preparations, and I could hear his joyous bark
ring out as some familiar article used by me on my former
journeys was dragged from its hiding-place.

Twenty times a day my gentle mother came to my room to
repeat some good counsel or reiterate some valuable caution.
It seemed to me that I had never seen her so calm, so stately,
so lovable.

She was very proud of my great name and so, in fact, were
every man, woman, and child in the castle. Had I not gotten
off as I did, I should have been literally killed with kindness
and Bulger slain with sweetcake.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER II

DON FUM’s mysterious DIRECTIONS. — BULGER AND I SET OUT
FOR PETERSBURG, AND THENCE PROCEED TO ARCHANGEL. —
THE STORY OF OUR JOURNEY AS FAR AS ILITCH ON THE
ILITCH. — IVAN THE TEAMSTER. — HOW WE MADE OUR WAY
NORTHWARD IN SEARCH OF THE PORTALS TO THE WORLD
WITHIN A WORLD. — IVAN’S THREAT. — BULGER’s DISTRUST
OF THE MAN AND OTHER THINGS.

According to the learned Don Finn’s manuscript, the portals
to the World within a World were situated somewhere in
Northern Russia, possibly, so he thought, from all indications,
somewhere on the westerly slope of the tipper Urals. But the
great thinker could not locate them with any accuracy. “ The
people will tell thee ” was the mysterious phrase that occurred
again and again on the mildewed pages of this wonderful writ-
ing. “ The people will tell thee.” Ah, but what people will
be learned enough to tell me that? was the brain-racking ques-
tion which I asked myself, sleeping and waking, at sunrise, at
Iiigh noon, and at sunset ; at the crowing of the cock, and in the
silent hours of the night.

“ The people will tell thee,” said learned Don Fum.

“ Ah, but what people will tell me where to find the portals
to the World within a World?”

Hitherto on my travels I had made choice of a semi-Oriental
garb, both on account of its picturesqueness and its lightness
and warmth, but now as I was about to pass quite across Russia
for a number of months, I resolved to don the Russian national
costume ; for speaking Russian fluently, as I did a score or more
of languages living and dead, I would thus be enabled to come
and go without everlastingly displaying my passport, or having

8 A MAIiFELLOl/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY.

my trains of tliouglit constantly disturbed by inquisitive travel-
ling companions — a very important thing to me, for my mind
possessed the extraordinary power of working out automatieally
any task assigned to it by me, provided it was not suddenly
thrown off its track by some ridiculous interruption. For
instanee, I was upon the very point one day of discovering per-
petual motion, when the gracious baroness suddenly opened the
door and asked me whether I had pared the nails of my great
toes lately, as she had obs.erved that I had worn holes in several
pairs of my best stockings.

It was about the middle of February when I set out from the
Castle Trump, and I journeyed night and day in order to reach
Petersburg by the first of March, for I knew that the govern-
ment trains would leave that city for the White Sea during the
first week of that month. Bulger and I were both in the best
of health and spirits, and the fatigue of the journey didn’t tell
upon us in the least. The moment I arrived at the Russian
capital I applied to the emperor for permission to join one of the
government trains, which was most graciously accorded. Our
route lay almost directly to the northward for several days, at
the end of which time we reached the shores of Lake Ladoga.
Ihis we crossed on the ice with our sledges, as a few days later
we did Lake Onega. Thence by land again, we kept on our
way until Onega Bay had been reached, crossing it, too, on the
ice, and so reaching the station of the same name, where we
halted for a day to give our horses a well-deserved rest. From
this point we proceeded in a straight line over the snow fields to
Arehangel, an important trading-post on the White Sea.

As this was the destination of the government train, I parted
with its commandant after a few daj^s’ pleasant sojourn at the
government house, and set out, attended only by my faithful
Bulger and two servants, who had been assigned to me by the
imperial commissioner.

My course now carried me up the River Dwina as far as
Solvitchegodsk ; thenee I proceeded on my way over the frozen

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

waters of tlie Witchegda River until we had reached the govern-
ment post of Yarensk, and from here on we headed due East
until our hardy little horses had dragged us into the picturesque
village of Hitch on the Hitch. Here we were obliged to aban-
don our sledges, for the snows had disappeared like magic,
uncovering long vistas of green fields, which in a few days the
May sun dotted with flowers and sweet shrubs. At Hitch I was
obliged to relinquish from my service the two faithful govern-
ment retainers who had accompanied me from Archangel, for
they had now reached the most westerly point which they had
been commissioned to visit. I had become very much attached
to them, and so had Bulger, and aft^r their departure we both
felt as if we were now, for the first time, among strangers in a
strange land; but I succeeded in engaging, as I thought, a trust-
worthy teamster, Ivan by name, who made a contract with me
for a goodly wage to carry me a hundred miles farther north.

“ But not another step farther, little baron ! ” said the fellow
doggedly. I was now really at the foot hills of the Northern
Urals, for the rocky crests and snow-clad peaks were in full
sight.

I turned many a wistful look up toward the wild regions shut
in by their sheer walls and parapets, shaggy and bristling with
black pines, for a low, mysterious voice came a-whispering in my
inward ear that somewhere, ah, somewhere in that awful wilder-
ness, I should one day come upon the portals of the World with-
in a World! In spite of all I could do Bulger took a violent
dislike to Ivan and Ivan to him ; and if the bargain had not been
made and the money paid over, I should have looked about me
for another teamster. And yet it would have been a foolish
thing to do, for Ivan had two excellent horses, as I saw at a
glance, and, what’s more, he took the best of care of them, at
every post rubbing them until they were quite dry, and never
thinking of his own supper until they had been watered and
fed.

His tarantass, too, was quite new and solidly built and well

,A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

furnished with soft blankets, all in all as comfortable as you can
make a wagon which has no other springs than the two long
wooden supports that reach from axle to axle. True, they were
somewhat elastic ; but I could notice that Bulger was not over-
fond of riding in this curious vehicle with its rattlety-bang gait
up and down these mountain roads, and often asked permission
to leap out and follow on foot.

At length Ivan reported everything in readiness for the start;
and although I would have fain taken my departure from Hitch
on the Hitch in as quiet a manner as possible, yet the whole
village turned out to see us off — Ivan’s family, father, mother,
sisters, and brothers, wife and children, uncles and aunts and
cousins by dozens alone making up people enough to stock a
small town. They cheered and waved their kerchiefs, Bulger
barked, and I smiled and raised my cap with all the dignity of a
Trump. And so we got away at last from Hitch on the Ilitch,
Ivan on the box, and Bulger and I at the back, sitting close
together like two brothers that we were — two breasts with but
a single heart-beat and two brains busy with the same thought —
that come perils or come sudden attacks, come covert danger or
bold and open-faced onslaught, we should stand together and
fall together ! jMany and many a time as Ivan’s horses went
crawling up the long stretches of mountain road and I lay
stretched upon the broad-cushioned seat of the tarantass with
a blanket rolled up for a pillow, I would find myself uncon-
scioush' repeating those mysterious words of Don Fum: —

“ The people will tell thee ! The people will tell thee ! ”

So steep were the roads that some days we would not make
more than five miles, and on others a halt of several hours would
have to be made to enable Ivan to tighten his horses’ shoes,
grease the axles, or do some needful thing in or about his wagon.
It was slow work, ay, it was very slow and tedious, but what
matters it how many or great the difficulties, to a man who has
made up his mind to accomplish a certain task ? Do the storks
or the wild geese stop to count the thousands of miles between

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

them and their far-away homes when the time comes to turn
their heads southward? Do the brown ants pause to count the
hundreds of thousands of grains of sand which they must carry
through their long corridors and winding passages before they
have burrowed deep enough to escape the frost of midwinter?

There had been many Trumps, but never one that had thrown
up his arms and cried, “ I surrender I ” and should I be the first
to do it? “Never! Not even if it meant never to see dear old
Castle Trump again ! ”

One morning as we went zigzagging up a particularly nasty
bit of mountain road, Ivan suddenly wheeled about and without
even taking off his hat, cried out, —

“ Little baron, I cover the last mile of the hundred to-day.
If thou wouldst go any farther north thou must hire thee
another teamster ; dost hear?”

“ Silence ! ” said I sternly, for the fellow had broken in upon
a very important train of thought.

Bulger, too, resented the man’s insolence, and growled and
showed his teeth.

“ But, little baron, listen to reason,” he continued in a more
respectful tone, removing his cap ; “ my people will expect me
back. I promised my father — I’m a dutiful son — I — ”

“Nay, nay, Ivan,” I interrupted sharply, “curb that tongue of
tliine lest it harm thy soul. Know, then, that I spoke with thy
father, and he promised me that thou shouldst go a second hun-
dred miles with me if need were, but on condition that I give
thee double pay. It shall be done, and on top of that a goodly
present for your yoluhtchika (darling).”

“Little baron, thou art a hard master,” whimpered the man.
“ If the whim took thee thou wouldst bid me leap into the
Giants’ Well just to see whether it has a bottom or not. St.
Nicholas, save me!”

“ Nay, Ivan,” said I kindly, “ I know no such word as cruelty
although I do confess that right seems harsh at times, but thou
wert born to serve and I to command. Providence hath made

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

thee poor and me rich. We need each other. Do thou thy duty,
and thou wilt find me just and considerate. Disobey me, and
thou wilt find that this short arm may be stretched from Hitch
to Petersburg.”

Ivan turned pale at this hidden threat of mine ; but I deemed
it necessary to make it, for I as well as Bulger had scented
treachery and rebellion about this boorish fellow, whose good
trait was his love of his horses, and it has always been my rule
in life to open ni}’' eyes wide to the good that there is in a man,
and close them to his faults. But, in spite of kind words and
kind treatment, Ivan grew surlier and moodier the moment we
had passed the hundredth milestone.

Bulger watched him with a gaze so steady and thoughtful
that the man fairly quailed before it. Hour by hour he became
more and more restive, and upon leaving a roadside tavern, for
the very first time since we had left Hitch on the Hitch, I noticed
that the fellow had been drinking too much ktvass. He let
loose his tongue, and raised his hand against his horses, which
until that moment he had been wont to load down with caresses
and pet names.

“ Look out for that driver of thine, little baron,” whispered
the tavern-keeper. “ He’s in a reckless mood. He’d not pull
up if the Giants’ Well were gaping in front of him. St.
Nicholas have thee in his safe keeping ! ”

A MAJirELLOdS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER III

IVAN MORE AND MORE TROUBLESOME. — BULGER WATCHES HIM
CLOSELY. — HIS COWARDLY ATTACK UPON ME. — MY FAITH-
FUL BULGER TO THE RESCUE. — A DRIVER WORTH HAVING.
— HOW I WAS CARRIED TO A PLACE OF SAFEITY. — IN THE
HANDS OF OLD YULIANA. — THE GIANTS’ WELL.

W HEN we halted for the night it was only by threatening the
man with severe punishment upon my return to Hitch that I
could bring him to rub his horses dry and feed and water them
properly ; but I stood over him until he had done his work
thoroughly, for I knew that no such horses could be had for
love or money in that country, and if they should go lame from
standing with wet coats in the chill night air, it might mean a
week’s delay.

Scarcely had I thrown myself on the hard mattress wliicli the
tavern-keeper called the best bed in the house, when I was
aroused by loud and boisterous talking in the next room. Ivan
was drinking and quarrelling with the villagers. I strode into
the room with the arrows of indignation shooting from my eyes,
and the faithful Bulger close at my heels.

The moment Ivan set eyes upon us he shrank away, half in
earnest and half in jest, and called out, —

‘‘Hey, look at' the mazuntchick ! [Little Dandy!] How
smart he looks ! He frightens me ! See his eyes, how they
shine in the dark ! Look at the little demon on four legs beside
him ! Save me, brothers ! Save me — he will throw me down
into the Giants’ Well ! Marianka will never see me again I
Never 1 Save me, brothers ! ”

‘‘ Peace, fellow,” I called out sternly. “ How darest thou
exercise thy dull wit on thy master? Get thee to bed ar once.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

or I’ll have thee whipped by the village constable for thy
drunkenness.”

Ivan clambered up upon the top of the bake oven, and stretched
himself out on a sheepskin ; then turning to the tavern-keeper,
I forbade him under any pretext whatever to give my servant
any more liquor to drink. Vasha prevoskhoditeUtvo

[Ah, your Excellency !] ” exclaimed the tavern-keeper with a
gesture of disgust, “ the fools never know when they have had
enough. It matters not what the tavern-keeper may say to
them. They tell us not to spoil our own trade. Akh! [Ah!]
they don’t know when to stop. They have throats as deep as
the ‘ Giants’ Well ! ’ ”

“The Giants’ Well I The Giants’ Well!”! murmured to
myself, as I again threw myself down upon the bag of hay which
did service as a mattress for those who could afford to pay for
it. It’s strange how those words seem to be in every peasant’s
mouth, but I thought no more about it at that time. Sleep got
the better of me, and with my usual good-night to the elder
baron and the gracious baroness, my mother, I dropped off into
sweet forgetfulness.

It is a good thing that I had the power of falling asleep
almost at will, for with my restless brain ever throbbing and
pulsating with its own over-abundance of strength, ever tapping
at the thin panels of bone which covered it, like an imprisoned
inventor pounding on his cell door and pleading to be let out
into the daylight with his plans and schemes, I should simply
have become a lunatic.

As it was, with the mere power of thought I ordered sweet
slumber to come to my rescue, and so obedient was this good
angel of mine, that all I had to do was simply to set the time
when I wished to awaken, and the thing was done to the very
minute.

As for Bulger, I never pretended to lay down any rules for
him. He made it a practice of catching forty winks when lie
was persuaded that no danger of any kind threatened me, and

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

even then, I am half inclined to believe that, like an anxious
mother over her babe, he never quite closed both eyes at once.

Though entirely sobered by daybreak, yet Ivan went about
the task of harnessing up with such an ill grace that I was
obliged to reprove him several times before we had left the
tavern yard. He was like a vicious but cowardly animal that
quails before a strong and steady eye, but watches its oppor-
tunity to spring upon you when your back is turned.

I not only called Bulger’s attention to the fellow’s actions,
and warned him to be very watchful, but I also took the precau-
tion to examine the priming of the brace of Spanish pistols
which I carried thrust into my belt.

We had scarcely pulled out into the highway when a low
growl from Bulger aroused me from a fit of meditation; and this
growl was followed by such an anxious whine from my four-
footed brother, as he raised his speaking eyes to me, that I
glanced hastily from one side of the road to the other.

Lo and behold ! the treacherous Ivan was deliberately engaged
in an attempt to overturn the tarantass and to get rid of his
enforced task of transporting us any farther on our journey.

“Wretch!” I cried, springing up and laying my hand on his
shoulder. “ I perceive very plainly what thou hast in mind, but
I warn thee most solemnly that if thou makest another attempt
to overturn thy wagon. I’ll slay thee where thou sittest.”

For only answer and with a lightning-like quickness he struck
a back-hand blow at me with the loaded end of his whipstock.

It took me full in the right temple, and sent me to the bottom
of the tarantass like a piece of lead.

For an instant the terrible blow robbed me of my senses, but
then I saw that the cowardly villain had turned in his seat and
had swung the heavy handled whip aloft with intent to de-
spatch me with a second and a surer blow.

Poor fool ! he reckoned without his host ; for with a shriek of
rage, Bulger leaped at his throat like a stone from a catapult, and
struck his teeth deep into the fellow’s flesh.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

He roared with agony and attempted to shake off this unex-
pected foe, but in vain.

By this time I had come to a full realizing sense of the terri-
ble danger Bulger and I were both in, for Ivan had dropped his
whip and was reaching for his sheath-knife.

But he never gripped it, for a well-aimed shot from one of my
pistols struck him in the forearm, for I had no wish to take the
man’s life, and broke it.

The shock and the pain so j)aralyzed him that he fell over
against the dashboard half in a faint, and then rolled completely
out of the wagon, dragging Bulger with him. The horses now
began to rear and plunge. I saw no more. There was a noise
as of the roar of angry waters in my ears, and then the light of
life went out of my eyes entirely. I had swooned dead away.

It seemed to me hours that I lay there on my back in the
bottom of the tarantass with my head hanging over the side, but
of course it was only minutes. I was aroused by a prickling
sensation in my left cheek, and as I slowly came to myself I
discovered that it proceeded from the gravel thrown up against
it by one of the front wheels of the tarantass, for the horses were
galloping along at the top of their speed, and there on the driver’s
seat sat my faithful Bulger, the reins in his teeth, bracing
himself so as to keep them taut over the horses’ backs ; and as I
sat up and pressed my hand against my poor hurt head, the
whole truth broke upon me : —

The moment Ivan had struck the ground Bulger had released
his hold upon the fellow’s throat, and ere he had had a chance to
revive had leaped up into the driver’s seat, and, catching up the
reins in his teeth, had drawn them taut and thus put an end to
the rearing and plunging of the frightened beasts and started
them on their way, leaving the enraged Ivan brandishing his
knife and uttering imprecations upon mine and Bulger’s heads
as he saw his horses and wagon disappear in the distance. Now
was it that a mad shouting assailed my ears and I caught a
glimpse of half a dozen peasants who, seeing this, as they thought.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

empty tarantass come nearer and nearer with its galloping
horses, had abandoned their work and rushed out to intercept it.

Judge of their amazement, dear friends, as their eyes fell upon
the calm and skilful driver bracing himself on the front seat,
and with oft repeated backward tosses of his head urging those
horses to bear his beloved master farther and farther away from
the treacherous Ivan’s sheath-knife.

As the peasants seized the animals by the heads and brought
them to a standstill, I staggered to my feet, and threw my arms
around my dear Bulger. He was more than pleased with what
he had done, and licked my bruised brow with many a piteous
moan.

“ St. Nicholas, save us ! ” cried one of the peasants, devoutly
making the sign of the cross ; “ but if I should live long enough
to fill the Giants’ Well with pebbles, I never would expect to see
the like of this again.”

“The Giants’ Well, the Giants’ Well!” I murmured to my-
self as I followed one of the peasants to his cot, standing a little
back from the highway, for I stood sore in need of rest after the
terrible experience I had just had. The blow of Ivan’s whip-
handle had jarred my brain, and I was skilled enough in surgery
to know that the hurt called for immediate attention. As good
luck would have it, I found beneath the peasant’s roof one of
those old women, half witches perhaps, who have recipes for
everything and who know an herb for every ailment. After she
had examined the cut made by the loaded whip-handle, she mut-
tered out, —

“ It is not as broad as the mountain, nor as deep as the Giants’
Well, but it’s bad enough, little master.”

“The Giants’ Well again,” thought I, as I laid me down on
the best bed they could make up for me. “I wonder where it
may be, that Giants’ Well, and how deep it is, and who drinks
the water that is drawn from it ? ”

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER IV

MY WOUND HEALS. — YULIANA TALKS ABOUT THE GIANTS’
WELL. — I EESOLVE TO VISIT IT. — PKEPARATIONS TO ASCEND
THE MOUNTAINS. — WHAT HAPPENED TO YULIANA AND TO ME.
— REFLECTION AND THEN ACTION. — HOW I CONTRIVED TO
CONTINUE THE ASCENT WITHOUT YULIANA FOR A GUIDE.

It was a day or so before I could walk steadily, and meantime
I made unusual efforts to keep my brain quiet, but in spite of
all I could do every mention of the Giants’ Well by one of the
peasants sent a strange thrill through me, and I would find my-
self suddenly pacing up and down the floor, and repeating over
and over again the words, “ Giants’ Well ! Giants’ Well ! ”
Bulger was greatly troubled in his mind, and sat watching
me with a most bewildered look in his loving eyes. He had
half a suspicion, I think, that that cruel blow from Ivan’s whip-
handle had injured my reasoning powers, for at times he uttered
a low, plaintive whine. The moment I took notice of him, how-
ever, and acted more like myself, he gamboled about me in the
wildest delight. As I had directed the peasants to drive Ivan’s
horses back towards Hitch on the Hitch, until they should meet
that miscreant and deliver them to him, I was now without any
means of continuing my journey northward, unless I set out,
like many of my famous predecessors, on foot. They had longer
legs than I, however, and were not loaded with so heavy a brain
in proportion to their size, and a brain, too, that scarcely ever
slept, at least not soundly. I was too impatient to reach the
portals to the World within a World to go trudging along a
dusty highway. I must have horses and another tarantass, or
at least a peasant’s cart. I must push on. My head was quite
healed now, and my fever gone.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“Hearken, little master,” whispered Yuliana; such was the
name of the old woman who had taken care of me, “ thou art
not what thou seemst. I never saw the like of thee before. If
thou wouldst, I believe thou couldst tell me how high the sky
is, how thick through the mountains are, and how deep the
Giants’ Well is.”

I smiled, and then I said, —

“Didst ever drink from the Giants’ Well, Yuliana?”

At which she wagged her head and sent forth a low chuckle.

“Hearken, little master,” she then whispered, coming close
to me, and holding up one of her long, bony fingers, “thou
canst not trick me — thou knowest that the Giants’ Well hath
no bottom.”

“No bottom?” I repeated breathlessly, as Don Fum’s mys-
terious words, “ The people will tell thee ! ” flashed through my
mind. “No bottom, Yuliana?”

“Not unless thine eyes are better than mine, little master,”
she murmured, nodding her head slowly.

“Listen, Yuliana,” I burst out impetuously, “where is this
bottomless well ? Thou shalt lead me to it ; I must see it.
Come, let’s start at once. Thou shalt be well paid for thy
pains.”

“ Nay, nay, little master, not so fast,” she replied. “ It’s far
up the mountains. The way is steep and rugged, the paths are
narrow and winding, a false step might mean instant death,
were there not some strong hand to save thee. Give up such a
mad thought as ever getting there, except it be on the stout
shoulders of some mountaineer.”

“ Ah, good woman,” was my reply, “ thou hast just said that
I am not what I seem, and thou saidst truly. Know, then, thou
seest before thee the world-renowned traveller, Wilhelm Hein-
rich Sebastian von Troomp, commonly called ‘Little Baron
Trump,’ that though short of stature and frail of limb, yet
what there is of me is of iron. There, Yuliana, there’s gold for
thee ; now lead the way to the Giants’ Well.”

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“ Gently, gently, little baron,” almost whispered the old
peasant woman, as her shrivelled hand closed upon the gold
piece. “ I have not told thee all. For leagues about, I ween,
no living being excepting me knows where the Giants’ Well is.
Ask them and they’ll say, “It’s up yonder in the mountains,
away up under the eaves of the sky. That’s all. That’s all
they can tell thee. But, little master, I know where it is, and
the very herb that cured thy hurt head and saved thee from
certain death by cooling thy blood, was plucked by me from the
brink of the well ! ” These words sent a thrill of joy through
me, for now I felt that I was on the right road, that the words
of the great master of all masters, Don Fum, had come true.

“ The people will tell thee ! ”

Ay, the people had told me, for now there was not the faintest
shadow of doubt in my mind that I had found the portals to the
World within a World ! Yuliana should be my guide. She
knew how to thread her way up the narrow pass, to turn aside
from overhanging rocks which a mere touch might topple over,
to find the steps which nature had hewn in the sides of the
rock}^ parapets, and to pursue her way safely through clefts and
gorges, even the entrance to which might be invisible to ordi-
nary eyes. However, in order that the superstitious peasants
might be kept friendly to me, I gave it out that I was about to
betake myself to the mountains in search of curiosities for my
cabinet, and begged them to furnish me with ropes and tackle,
with two good stout fellows to carry it for me, promising gen-
erous payment for the services.

They made haste to provide me with all I asked for, and we
set out for the mountain path at daybreak. Yuliana, in order
not to seem to be of the party, had gone on ahead by the light
of the moon, telling her people that she wished to gather certain
herbs before the sun’s rays struck them and dried the healing
dew that beaded their leaves.

All went well until the sun was well up over our heads, when
suddenly I heard a woman, who proved to be Yuliana, utter a

ALONG A HIGHWAY OF THE UNDER WORLD.

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A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

piercing scream. In a moment or so the mystery was solved.
The old beldam came rushing down the mountain, her thin wisp
of gray hair fluttering in the wind. Her hands were tied behind
her, and two young peasants with birchen rods were beating her
every chance they got.

“ Turn back, turn back, brothei*s,” they cried to my two men.
“ The little wizard there has struck hands with this old witch.
They’re on their way to the Giants’ Well. They’ll loosen a
band of black spirits about our ears. We shall all be bewitched.
Quick ! Quick! Cast off the loads ye’re bearing and follow us.”

The two men didn’t wait for a second bidding, and throwing
the tackle on the ground, they all disappeared like a flash, but
for several moments I could hear the screams of poor Yuliana
as these young wretches beat the old woman with their birchen
rods.

Well, dear readers, what say ye to this? Was I not in a
pleasant position truly ? Alone with Bulger in that wild and
gloomy mountain region, the black rocks hanging like frowning
giants and ogres over our heads, with the dwarf pines for hair,
clumps of white moss for eyes, vast, gaping cracks for mouths,
and gnarled and twisted roots for terrible fingers, ready to reach
down for my poor little weazen frame.

Did I fall a-trembling ? Did I make haste^ to follow those
craven spirits down the mountain side ? Did I shift the peg of
my courage a single hole lower ?

Not I. If I had I wouldn’t have been worthy of the name I
bore. What I did do was to throw myself at full length on a
bed of moss, call Bulger to my side, and close my eyes to the
outer world.

I have heard of great men going to bed at high noon to give
themselves up to thought, and I had often done it myself before
I had heard of their doing it.

In fifteen minutes, by nature’s watch — the sun on the face
of the mountain — I had solved the problem. Now, there were
two difficulties staring me in the face ; namely, to find some-

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

body to show me the way up the mountain, and if that body
couldn’t carry my tackle, then to find somebody else who could.

It suddenly occurred to me that I had noticed some cattle
grazing at the foot of the mountain, and, what’s more, that these
cattle wore very peculiar yokes.

“ What are those yokes for?” I asked myself, for they were of
a make quite different from any that I remembered ever having
seen, and consisted of a stout wooden collar from the bottom of
which there projected backward between the beast’s forelegs a
straight piece of wood armed with an iron spike pointing toward
the ground. At the top the yoke was bound by a leather thong
to the animal’s horns. So long, therefore, as the beast held his
head naturally or even lowered it to graze, the yoke was drawn
forward and the hook was kept free from the ground, but the
very moment the animal raised his head in the air, at once the
hook was thrown into the ground and lie was prevented from
taking another step forward. Now, dear readers, you may or
may not know that when a cleft-hoofed animal starts to ascend
a steep bank, unlike a solid-hoofed beast, he throws his head into
the air instead of lowering it, and therefore it struck me at once
that the purpose of this yoke was to keep the cattle from making
their way up the sides of the mountain and getting lost.

But why should they want to clamber up the mountain sides ?
Simply because there was some kind of grass or herbage growing
up there which was a delicacy to them, and knowing, as I well
did, what risks animals will take and what fatigue they will
undergo to reach a favorite grazing-ground, it struck me at once
that if I would make it possible for them to reach this favorite
food of theirs, they would be very glad to give me a lift on my
way.

No sooner said than done. I forthwith retraced my steps
until I fell in with a group of these cattle ; and it did not take
me many minutes to loosen their yokes from their horns and tie
the hooks up under their bodies so that their progress up hill
would not be interfered with.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

They were delighted to find themselves so unexpectedly freed
from the hateful drawback which permitted them merely to
view the coveted grazing-grounds from afar, and then having
cut me a suitable goad, I again started up the mountain, driving
my new friends leisurely on ahead of me.

Upon reaching the spot where the superstitious peasants had
tlirown the tackle to the ground, I proceeded to load it upon the
back of the gentlest beast of the lot, and was soon on my way
again.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER V

UP AISTD STILL UP, AND THROUGH THE QUARRIES OF THE
DEMONS. — HOW THE CATTLE KEPT THE TRAIL, AND HOW WE
CAME AT LAST UPON THE BRINK OF THE GIANTS’ WELL. —
THE TERRACES ARE SAFELY PASSED. — BEGINNING OF THE
DESCENT INTO THE WELL ITSELF. — ALL DIFFICULTIES OVER-
COME. — WE REACH THE EDGE OF POLYPHEMUS’ FUNNEL.

Generally speaking, people with very large heads are fitted
out by nature with a pair of rather pipe-stemmy legs, but such
was not my case. I was blest with legs of the sturdiest sort,
and found no difficulty in keeping pace with my new four-footed
friends who, to my delight, were not long in convincing me that
they had been there before. Not for an instant did they halt at
any fork in the path, but kept continually on the move, often
passing over stretches of ground where there was no trail visible,
but coming upon it again with unfailing accuracy. Once only
they halted, and that was to slake their thirst at a mountain rill,
Bulger and I following their example.

It was only too evident to me that they had in mind a certain
grazing-ground, and were resolved to be satisfied with no other ;
so I let them have their own way, for, as it was still up, up, up, I
felt that it was perfectly safe to follow their lead.

At last the mountain side began to take on quite another
character. The gorges grew narrower, and at times overhanging
rocks shut out the sunlight almost entirely. We were entering
a region of peculiar wildness, of fantastic grandeur.

I had often read of what travellers termed the “ Quarries of
the Demons ” in the Northern Urals, but never till now had I
the faintest notion of what the expression meant.

Imagine to yourself the usual look of ruin and devastation

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY.

around and about a quarry worked by human hands, then in
your thoughts conceive every chip to be a block, and every block
a mass ; add four times its size to every slab and post and pecU-
ment, and then turn a mighty torrent through the place and roll
and twist and lift them up in wild confusion, end on end and on
each other piled, till these wild waters have builded fantastic
portals to temples more fantastic, and arched wild gorges with
roofs of rock which seem to hang so lightly that a breath or
footfall might bring them down with terrible crash, and then,
dear friends, you may succeed in getting a faint idea of the wild
and awful grandeur of the scene which now lay spread out
before me.

Would the cattle that had now led Bulger and me so safely
up the mountain side know where to find an entrance to this
wilderness of broken rock, and what was more important still,
would they, when once engaged within its winding courts and
corridors, its darkened maze of wall and parapet, its streets and
plazas roughly paved as if by demon hands impatient of the
task, know how to find their way out again ?

Dear friends, man has always been too distrustful of his four-
footed companions. They have much that they might tell us
had they but speech to tell it with. I have often trusted them
when it would have seemed foolliardy to you, and never once
have I had cause to repent of doing so.

So Bulger and I, with stout hearts, followed straight after
these silent guides, although I must confess my legs were begin-
ning to feel the terrible strain I had put them to ; but I resolved
to push on ahead, at least until we had cleared the Demons’
Quarry, and then to bring my little herd to a halt and pass
the rest of the day and the night season in well-earned
repose.

Once within the quarry, however, all sense of fatigue vanished,
and my thankful mind, entranced and fascinated by the deep
silence, the awful grandeur, the mysterious lights and shadows
of the place, lent me new strength. At length we had traversed

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

this city of silence and gloom, and once again we emerged into
the full glory of the afternoon sun.

Suddenly my little drove of cattle, with playful tossing of
their heads, broke into a run, Bulger and I at their heels, hov^-
ever. It was a mad race ; but, dear friends, when it ended I
took off my fur cap and tossed it high into the air with a wild
cry of joy, and Bulger broke out in a string of yelps and barks,
for, look ye, the cattle were grazing away for dear life there in
front of me, and as their breath reached me my keen nostrils
recognized the odor of Yuliana’s herbs which she had bound on
my hurt head.

Yes, we stood almost upon the brink of the Giants’ Well,
but I was too tired to take another step farther, too tired, in
fact, to eat, although I had a stock of dried fruit in my pockets,
and noticed that the nests of the wild fowl were well supplied
with eggs. Having unloosened the tackle from the back of the
good beast that had carried it up the mountain for me, I threw
myself on the ground and was soon fast asleep, with my faithful
Bulger coiled up close against my breast.

In the morning the cattle were nowhere to be seen, but I
didn’t trouble myself about them, for I knew that old Yuliana
would be sent up after them the moment they were missed.
After a hearty breakfast on half a dozen roasted eggs of the
wild fowl, with some dried fruit and wintergreen berries, Bulger
and I advanced to the edge of the Giants’ Well, or, rather, to the
edge of the vast terraces of rock leading down to it, each of
which was from thirty to fifty feet in sheer height.

Before I go any farther, dear friends, I must beg you to
remember that I am an expert in the use of tackle, there being
no knot, noose, or splice known to a sailor which I didn’t have
at my fingers’ ends, a fact not to be wondered at when you take
into consideration the thousands of miles which I have travelled
on water.

Nor would I have you shake your heads and look only half
persuaded when I go on describing our descent into the Giants’

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

Well, for of course you’ll be asking yourselves how I succeeded
in getting the tackle down when there was no one left at the
other end to untie it !

Know, then, that that was the smallest of my troubles ; for, as
any sailor will tell you, you only need to tie your line in what
is known as a “ fool’s knot,” to one end of which you make fast
a mere cord. The moment you have reached the bottom, a
sharp tug at the cord unties the fool’s knot, and your tackle
falls down after you. My method was to lower Bulger down
first, and then let myself down after him. In this way we pro-
ceeded from parapet to parapet, until at last we stood upon the
very edge of the vast well, the existence of which had been so
mysteriously hinted at in Don Fum’s manuscript. Its mouth
was probably fifty feet in width, and by straining my eyes I
satisfied myself of the existence of a shelf of rock on one side,
as nearly as I could judge about seventy-five feet down. It was
a goodly stretch, and would require every foot of my rope.
You will not smile. I’m sure, when I tell you that I pressed
Bulger to my breast, and kissed him fondly before lowering
away. He returned my caresses, and by his joyous yelp gave
me to understand that he had perfect faith in his little master.

In a few moments I had joined him on this narrow shelf of
rock. Below us now was darkness, but think you I hesitated ?
I knew that my eyes would soon become accustomed to the
gloom, and I also knew that when my eyes failed Bulger’s
keener ones were there to help me out.

I rigged my tackle now with extra care, for I was really low-
ering my little brother on a sort of trip of discovery.

He was soon out of sight, and then, in spite of my calmness,
I drew a quick breath, and my heart started upward a barley-
corn or so. But hark ! his quick, sharp bark comes plainly up
to me. It means that he has landed upon a safe shelf or ledge,
and the next moment my legs encircled the rope, and I began
to glide noiselessly down into the stilly depths, his glad voice
ringing in my ears.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

Again and again did I send niy wise and watchful little
brother down ahead of me, until at last, standing there and
looking up, naught remained to me of the mighty outside world
but a bright silver speck, like a tiny ray of light streaming
through a pin-hole in the curtains of your chamber.

But stop, have we reached the bottom of the Giants’ Well?
for with a trial plummet I find that the walls are no longer
sheer ; they slope inward, and gently too, almost so much so
that I hardly need a line to continue my descent. Lighting
one of my little tapers, I make my way cautiously around the
edge. In half an hour I find myself back at the starting-place.
The curve to the path has been always the same, while my trial
plummet at all times has indicated the same slope to the rocky
basin. And then for the first time, two certain words made use
of by that learned Master of Masters, Don Fum, till then a
mystery to me, stood out before my eyes as if written with a pen
of fii'e upon those black walls thousands of feet below the great
world of light which I had quitted a few hours before. Those
words were Polyphemus’ Funnel I Yes, there could be no doubt
of it : I had reached the bottom of the Giants’ W ell. I stood
upon the edge of Polyphemus’ Funnel I

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER VI

MY DESPAIR UPON FINDING THE PIPE OF THE FUNNEL TOO
SMALL FOR MY BODY. — A RAY OF HOPE BREAKS IN UPON
ME. — FULL ACCOUNT OF HOAY I SUCCEEDED IN ENTERING
THE PIPE OF THE FUNNEL. — MY PASSAGE THROUGH IT. —

Bulger's timely aid. — the marble HIGH^YAY and some

CURIOUS THINGS CONCERNING THE ENTRANCE TO THE ^YORLD
WITHIN A WORLD.

The rocky sides of Polyphemus’ Funnel were apparently as
well polished as those of any tin funnel that I had ever seen
hanging in the kitchen of Castle Trump, so making fast my
tackle and taking Bulger in my arms, away we went sliding down
the side with the line passed under my arm for safety’s sake.

It was nearly a hundred feet to the bottom, for I had measured
off the full length of my line before I had come to the apex of
this gigantic cone, and not caring to tumble headlong down its
pipe, I proceeded to light a taper and look about me.

Ah, dear friends, 1 can feel that shudder now, so terrible was
it, and what wonder, too, for a glance at the pipe of the funnel
told me that it was too small to let my body pass through. The
agonizing thought flashed through my mind that I had com-
mitted a terrible error — that I had mistaken some vast pit for
the Giants’ Well, that I had thrown Bulger’s and my own life
away in mad and unreasoning haste, that I should never reach
the wonderful World within a World, that there in that thick
gloom must we lay our bodies and bones.

Or, thought I, may not the learned Master of Masters, Don
Fum, have made an error himself in holding out the idea that
the pipe of Polyphemus’ Funnel was large enough to admit the
passage of a man’s body?

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

[ii my almost frenzy I advanced to the mouth of the pipe, and,
lowering myself into it, let my body sink as far as it would.

ft caught at the slioulders, and after a careful examination
I was forced to reach the brain-racking conclusion that my
faithful Bulger and I had travelled our last mile together.

There was nothing for us to do but to lie down and die.

Lie down and die? Never! I had noticed in making the
descent into the Giants’ Well that its side had much the appear-
ance of being walled around by blocks of stone. With Bulger
strapped to my back I would slowly climb up from shelf to shelf
until my strength failed me, and then I would wait until I
thought old Yuliana had come back to gather herbs, and possi-
bly I might make her hear me.

In my despair I sighed and clutched my own arms, and as I
did so one of my hands came into contact with something cold
and slippery having the feel of tallow. Taking a pinch of the
substance between my thumb and finger, I rubbed it thoughtfully
for a moment, and then a ray of hope broke through the awful
gloom that enshrouded me so pitilessly. It Avas black lead —
there could be no doubt of it. It had made its way through a
crack or crevice in Polyphemus’ Funnel, and I had rubbed it
off in sliding down the side. With this greasy material to rub
on the inside of the pipe to the funnel, and also to besmear
myself with, mayhap I might yet slip through into the World
within a W orld !

At any rate, I determined to make the trial, even if I left some
of my skin on the flinty rock.

In order to collect my thoughts thoroughly, and that I might
proceed step by step in that systematic order so characteristic
of all my wonderful exploits, I sat down, and putting my arm
around dear Bulger’s neck and drawing him up against me, I
communed with myself for a good half-hour.

Then all was in readiness for action ; and to prove to you, dear
friends, how careful Bulger was not to interrupt my train of
thought, I have to report to you that although a small animal of

BKFORE her majesty GALAXA» queen of the MIKKAMENKIE3.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

the rat family came out from a crevice in the rock while I sat
there thinking, as 1 could see by the light of my tiny wax taper,
and had the temerity first to snifi; at Bulger’s tail and then to
give it a playful nip, yet the sagacious animal never budged
a hair’s breadth.

‘‘ Mind hath ordered, now let hands obey! ” I exclaimed, as I
sprang up and began stripping oft' my outer garments. This
done, I clambered up on the side of the funnel, and began to
collect a supply of the black lead, which I deposited near the
opening of the pipe. The next thing to do was to get Bulger
through tlie pipe ahead of me. To this end I tied him up in my
clothing, bag fashion, and began to lower away.

After paying out sixty-five or seventy feet of the line, he
struck bottom, and by his loud barking gave me to understand
that it was all rigid, that I might make the descent myself.
I'pon hearing his voice, I gave the line a few sharp tugs. lie
was not slow to comprehend my meaning, and in a moment or
so had not only scrambled out of the bag himself, but pulled my
clothing loose, so that I might draw the line up again.

My next step was to contrive a way to weight myself when
the moment arrived to begin the descent, for I felt sure that I
never should be able to arrange it so as to slip through the pipe
unless something was pulling at my heels.

Cutting off about ten feet of the rope, I made fast one end of
the piece to a long piece of rock, weighing about a hundred
pounds. This I laid near the mouth of the pipe ready for use.
But now came the most difficult thing of all — it was to draw
my shoulders in on my breast and lash them securely in that
position, by which plan I expected to reduce my width Iw at
least two good inches.

These two inches thus gained, or, rather, lost, might be the
means by which I would be able to slip through the pipe of
Polyphemus’ Funnel and reach the vast underground passage
leading to the World within a World. Putting a noose around
my chest, just below my collar bone, I drew my shoulders in as

A MAKVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

tight as 1 could bear, and changed the slip knot into a hard one ;
then having made the other end of the line fast to the side of
the funnel, I proceeded to wind myself up as the housewives
often do a big sausage to keep it from bursting. This done, I
set about rolling in the black lead until I was thoroughly
smeared with it.

There was now but one thing more to do before dropping my-
self into the pipe, and that was to make fast the weight to my
feet. It was no easy task, wound up as I was, with my arms
lashed down against my body, but by the use of slip knots I
finally accomplished the feat, and sitting down put my legs into
the pipe and drew a long breath, for I felt as if I was skewered
up in a straight jacket.

Bending down, I called out to Bulger. He answered with a
yelp of joy that brought fresh vigor to my heart. Now was
come the supreme moment which was to witness suecess or
failure. Failure ! Oh, what a dread word is that! and yet how
often must human lips pronounce it, and in so doing breathe out
the sigh in which it ends ! Quickly lowering the weight, I
wriggled off the edge of the opening, and straightened myself
out as I slipped into the pipe.

Had I stopped it like a cork, or was I moving? Yes, down,
down, gently, slowly, noiselessly, I went slipping through the
pipe to Polyphemus’ Funnel. What did I care how that weight
caused the line to cut into my ankles ? I was moving, I was
drawing nearer and nearer to Bulger, whose joyous bark I could
hear now and then, nearer to the inner gates of the World
Avithin a W orld 1

But woe is me ! I suddenly stop, and in spite of all my efforts
to start again by twisting, turning, and shaking my body, it
refused to sink another inch, and there I stick.

“ Oh, Bulger, Bulger,” I moan, “ faithful friend, if thou
couldst but reach me, one tug from thee might save thy little
master ! ”

In a sort of a wild and desperate way I now began to feel about

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

me as well as I could with my hands wedged in so close to my
sides, but in a moment or so I had discovered tlie cause of my
coming to such a sudden standstill.

I had struck a portion of the pipe that had a thread to it, like
that which encircles a bolt of iron and makes a screw of it, and
the thought came to me that if I could only succeed in giving
a revolving motion to my body, I would with every turn twist
myself farther down toward the end of the pipe.

I could feel that my knuckles and finger tips were being
bruised and lacerated by this arduous work, but what cared I
for the keen pain that darted from hands to wrists, and wrists
to elbows ! It was like twisting a screw slowly through a
long nut, only the thread in this case was on the nut and the
grooves in the screw, and that screw was my poor bruised little
body !

All of a sudden, by the swinging of the weight, I could tell
that it had passed out at the lower end of the pipe. It was pull-
ing cruelly hard on my tender ankles, but I could twist myself
no more ; my strength was gone. I was at the point of swoon-
ing when I heard Bulger utter a loud yelp, and the next instant
there was such a strong tug at my ankles that I sent forth a
groan, but that tug saved me ! It was Bulger who liad leaped
into the air, and catching the rope in his teeth had dragged his
little master out of the pipe of Polyphemus’ Funnel !

We all fell into the same heap, Bulger, I, and the weight,
fully ten feet, and very serious might have been the consequences
for me had my fall not been broken by my striking on the pile
of my clothing placed directly under the opening; and, dear
friends, if you talked until the crack o’ doom you could not
make me believe that my four-footed brotlier hadn’t placed
those clothes there to catch me.

They weren’t thrown higgledy-piggledy into a heap either,
but were laid one upon the other, the heaviest at the
bottom.

Having unwound myself and lighted one of my wax tapers,

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

I made haste to cast away the undergarment with its coating of
black lead and resume my clothing; then stooping down, I made
an examination of the floor. It was composed of huge blocks of
marble of various colors, polished almost as smooth as if the
hand of man had wrought the work ; and then I knew that I was
on Nature’s Marble Highway leading to the cities of the under
world which Don Fum had mentioned in his book, and I remem-
bered, too, that he had spoken of Nature’s Mighty Mosaics,
huge fantastic figures on the walls of these lofty corridors, made
up of various colored blocks and fragments laid one upon the
other as if with design, and not by the wild, tempestuous whims
of upbursting forces thousands of years ago, when the earth was
in its mad and wayward youth. After a rest of several hours,
during which I nursed my torn hands and bruised fingers, Bulger
and I were up and off again along this broad and glorious Marble
Highway. Strange to say, it was not the inky darkness of the
ordinary cavern which filled these magnificent chambers, through
which the Marble Highway went winding in stately and massive
grandeur ; far from it. The gloom was tempered by a faint glow
that met us on the way ever and anon, like a ray of twilight
gone astray. Anyway, Bulger, I noticed, could see perfectly
well ; so tying a bit of twine to his collar, I sent him on ahead,
convinced that I could have no surer guide.

At times our path would be lighted up for an instant by the
bursting-out of a little tongue of flame either^ on the sides or
from the roof of the gallery. I was puzzled for quite a while to
tell what it proceeded from ; but at last I caught sight of the
source, or rather the maker, of this welcome illumination. It
proceeded from a lizard-like animal, which, by suddenly uncoil-
ing its tail, had the power to emit this extremely bright flash of
phosphorescent light, and in so doing he made a sharp crack,
for all the world like the noise of an electric spark. Bulger
was delighted with this performance ; and on one occasion, not
being able to control his feeling, he uttered a sharp bark, where-
upon apparently ten thousand of these little torch-bearers

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snapped their tails at me at the same instant, and filled the
vast place with a flash of light of almost lightning-like
intensity.

Bulger was so frightened by the result of his applause that
he took good care to keep quiet after this.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER VII

OUR FIRST NIGHT IN THE UNDER WORLD, AND HOW IT WAS
FOLLOWED BY THE FIRST BREAK OF DAY. — BULGER’s
WARNING AND WHAT IT MEANT. — WE FALL IN WITH AN
INHABITANT OF THE WORLD WITHIN A WORLD. — HIS
NAME AND CALLING. — MYSTERIOUS RETURN OF NIGHT. —
THE LAND OF BEDS, AND HOW OUR NEAV FRIEND PROVIDED
ONE FOR US.

So heavy with sleep did my eyelids become at last that I knew
that it must be night in the outer world, and so we halted, and
I stretched myself at full length on that marble floor, which, by
the way, was pleasantly warm beneath us ; and the air, too, was
strangely comforting to the lungs, there being a complete absence
of that smell of earth and odor of dampness so common in vast
subterranean chambers.

My sleep was long-continued and most refreshing; Bulger
was already awake, however, when I sat up and tried to look
about me.

He began tugging at the string which I had fastened to his
collar as if he wanted to lead me somewhere, so I humored him
and followed along after. To my delight he led me straight to
a pool of deliciously sweet and cold water. Here we drank our
fill, and after a very frugal breakfast on some dried figs set out
again on our journey along the iMarble Highway. Suddenly, to
my more than joy, the faint and uncertain light of the place
began to strengthen. Why, it seemed almost as if the day of
the upper world were about to break, so delicate were the vari-
ous hues in which the ever-increasing light clothed itself : then,
as if affrighted at its own increasing glory, it would fade away
again to almost gloom. Ere many moments again this faint and

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mysterious glow would return, beginning with the softest yellow,
then changing through a dozen different tints, and, like a fickle
maid uncertain which to wear, put all aside and doii the lily’s
garb. Bulger and I wandered along the Marble Highway
almost afraid to break a stillness so deep that it seemed to me
as if I could hear those sportive rays of light in their play
against the many-colored rocks arching this mighty corridor.

Now, as the Marble Highway swept around in a graceful curve,
a dazzling flood of light burst upon us.

It was sunrise in the World within a World.

Whence came this flood of dazzling light which now caused
the sides and arching roof to glow and sparkle as if we had sud-
denly entered one of Nature’s vast storehouses of polished gems ?
Shading my eyes with my hand I looked about me in order to
try and solve the mystery.

It did not take me long to undei-stand it all. Know then,
dear friends, that the ceilings, domes, and arched roofs of this
underground world were fretted with a metal of greater hardness
than any known to us children of sunshine. Its seams ran
liither and thither like the veins of gigantic leaves ; and at certain
hours currents of electricity from some vast internal reservoir
of Nature’s own building, streamed through these metal traceries
until they glowed with a heat so white as to give off the flood
of dazzling light of which I have already spoken.

The current never came with a sudden rush or burst, but
began gently and timidly, so to speak, as if feeling its way along.
Hence the beautiful tints that always preceded sunrise in this
lower world, and made it so much like the coming and going of
our glorious sunshine.

The Marble Highway now divided, and the two lialves of the
fork curving away to the right and left enclosed a small but
exquisitely ornamented park, or pleasure ground I might call it,
provided with seats of some dark wood beautifully polished and
carved. This park was ornamented with four fountains, each
springing from a crystal basin and spreading out into a feathery

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spray that glistened like whirling snow in the dazzling white
light. As Bulger and I directed our steps toward one of the
benches with the intention of taking a good rest, a low growl
from him warned me to be on the alert. I gave a second look.
A human being was seated on the bench. Beside mj^self, as I
was, with curiosity to come face to face with this inhabitant of
the under world, the first we had met, I made a halt, determined
to ascertain, if possible, whether he was quite harmless before
accosting him.

He was small in stature, and clad entirely in black, a sort of
loose, flowing robe much like a Roman toga. His head was bare,
and what I could see of it was round, smooth, and rosy, with
about as much hair, or rather fuzz, upon it as the head of an
infant six weeks old. His face was hidden by a black fan which
he carried in his right hand, and the uses of which you will
learn later on. His eyes were shielded from the intense glare of
the light by a pair of colored glass goggles. As he raised his
hand between me and the light I couldn’t help catching my
breath. I could see right through it : the bones were as clear
as amber. And his head, too, was only a little less opaque.
Suddenly two words from Don Finn’s manuscript flashed through
my mind, and I exclaimed joyously, —

“ Bulger, we’re in the Land of the Transparent Folk ! ”

At the sound of my voice the little man arose and made a
low bow, lowering his fan to his breast where he held it. His
baby face was ludicrously sad and solemn.

“ Yes, Sir Stranger,” said he, in a low, musical voice, “ thou
art indeed in the Land of the Mikkamenkies (Mica Men), in the
Land of the Transparent Folk, called also Goggle Land; but if
1 should show thee my heart thou wouldst see that I am deeply
pained to think that I should have been the first to bid thee
welcome, for know. Sir Stranger, that thou speakest with Master
Cold Soul the Court Depressor, the saddest man in all Goggle
Land, and, by the way, sir, permit me to offer thee a pair of gog-
gles for thyself, and also a pair for thy four-footed companion.

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for our intense white light would blind thee both in a few
days.”

I thanked Master Cold Soul very warmly for the goggles, and
proceeded to set one pair astride my nose and to tie the other in
front of Bulger’s eyes. I then in most courteous manner in-
formed Master Cold Soul who I was, and begged him to explain
the cause of his great sadness. “ Well, thou must know, little
baron ” said he, after I had taken a seat beside him on the bench,
“that we, the loving subjects of Queen Galaxa, whose royal
heart is almost run down, — excuse these tears, living as we do
in this beautiful world so unlike the one you inhabit, which our
wise men tell us is built, strange to say, on the very outside of
the earth’s crust where it is most exposed to the full sweep of
blinding snow, freezing blast, pelting hail, drowning rain, and
choking dust, — living as we do, I say, in this vast temple by
Nature’s own hands builded, where disease is unknown, ancl where
our hearts run down like clocks that may have but one winding,
we are prone, alas, to be too happy ; to laugh too much ; to spend
too much time in idle gayety, chattering the time away like
thoughtless children amused with baubles, delighted with tinsel
nothings. Know then, little baron, that mine is the business to
check this gayety, to put an end to this childish glee, to depress
our people’s spirits, lest they run too high. Hence my garb of
inky hue, my rueful countenance, my frequent outflowing of
tears, my voice ever attuned to sadness. Excuse me, little
baron, my fan slipped then; didst see through me ? I would not
have thee see my heart to-day, for some way or other I cannot
bring it to a slow pace ; it is dreadfully unruly.”

I assured him that I had not seen through him as yet.

And now, dear friends, I must explain that by the laws of the
Mikkamenkies each man, woman, and child must wear in their
garments a heart-shaped opening on their breast directly over
tlieir hearts, with a corresponding one at the back, so that
under certain conditions, when the law allows it, each may have
the right to take a look at his neighbor’s heart and see exactly

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how it is beating — whether fast or slow, whether throbbing
or leaping, or whether pulsating calinl}^ and naturally. But this
privilege is only accorded, as I have said, under certain condi-
tions, hence to shut off inquisitive glances each Mikkamenky is
allowed to carry a black fan with which to cover the heart-
shaped opening above described, and in this way conceal his or
her feelings to a degree. I sa}" to a degree, for I may as well tell
you right here that falsehood is unknown, or, more correctly
stated, impossible in the land of the Transparent Folk, for the
reason that so wondrously clear, limpid, and crystal-like are
their eyes that the slightest attempt to say one thing while tliey
are thinking another roils and clouds them as if a drop of milk
had fallen into a glass of the purest water.

As I sat gazing at this strange little being seated on the bench
there beside me, I recalled a conversation which I had had with
a learned Russian at Solvitchegodsk. Said he, speaking of his
people, “We are all born with light hair, brilliant eyes, and
pale faces, for we have sprung up under the ^now.” And I
thought to myself how delighted, how entranced, he would have
been to look upon this curious being, born not under the snow,
but far under the surface of the earth, where in these vast
chambers of this World within a World, this strange folk had,
like plants grown in a dark, deep cellar, gradually parted with
all their coloring until their eyes glowed like orbs of pure crys-
tal, until their bones had been bleached to amber clearness, and
their blood coursed colorless through colorless veins.

While sitting there following out this train of thought, the
clear white light suddenly began to flicker and to play fantastic
tricks upon the walls by dancing in garbs of ever-changing hues,
now brightest yellow, now palest green, now glorious purple,
now deepest crimson.

“ Ah, little baron ! ” exclaimed Master Cold Soul, “ that was
an uncommonly short day. Rise, please.”

I made haste to obey, whereupon he touched a spring and the
bench opened in the centre, disclosing two very comfortable beds.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“ In a few moments night will be upon us,” continued the
Mikkamenky, “ but thou seest that we have not been taken by
surprise. I should explain to thee, little baron, that owing to
the capricious manner in which our River of Light is apt both to
begin and to cease flowing, we are never able to tell how long
a day or a night will prove to be. This is what we call twilight.
In thy world I suppose day goes out with a terrible bang, for
our wise men tell us that nothing can be done in the upper world
without making a noise ; that your people really love noise ; and
that the man who makes the greatest noise is considered the
greatest man.

“ Owing to the fact, little baron, that no one in Goggle
Land can tell how long the day will last, or how long it may be
necessary to sleep, our laws permit no one to set any exact time
when a thing shall be done, or to exact any promise to do this or
that on a certain day, for, bless thy soul, that day may not be
ten minutes long. Hence we say, ‘ If to-morrow be over five
hours long, come to me at the beginning of the sixth hour ; ’ and
we never wish each other a plain good-night, but say, ‘ Good-
night, as long as it lasts.’

“What’s more, little baron, as night is apt to come upon us
this way unawares, by law all the beds belong to the state ; no
one is allowed to own his own bed, for when night overtakes
him he may be at the other end of the city, and some other sub-
ject of Queen Galaxa may be in front of his door, and no matter
where night may overtake a Mikkamenky, he is sure to find a
bed. There are beds everywhere. By touching a spring they
drop from the walls, they pull out like drawers, they are under
the tables and divans, in the parks, in the market-place, by the
roadside ; benches, bins, boxes, barrows, and barrels by pressing
a spring may in an instant be transformed into beds. It is the
Land of Beds, little baron. But ah I behold, the twilight goes
to its end. Good-night as long as it lasts ! ” and with this Mas-
ter Cold Soul stretched himself out and began to snore, having
first carefully covered up the two holes in the front and back of

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his garment, so that I shouldn’t have a chance to take a peep
through him in case I should wake up first. Bulger and I were
right glad to lay our limbs on a real bed, although from the way
my four-footed brother followed his tail around and around, I
could see that he wasn’t particularly delighted with the softness
of the couch.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER VIII

“ GOOD-MORNING AS LONG AS IT LASTS.” — PLAIN TALK
FROM MASTER COLD SOUL. — WONDERS OF GOGGLE LAND. —
WE ENTER THE CITY OF THE MIKKAMENKIES. — BRIEF DE-
SCRIPTION OF IT. — OUR APPROACH TO THE ROYAL PALACE. —
QUEEN GALAX A AND HER CRYSTAL THRONE. — MASTER
COLD soul’s tears.

I don’t think the darkness lasted over three hours, perhaps
it was longer ; but Master Cold Soul was obliged to shake me
gently ere he could rouse me.

“ Now, little baron,” said he, after he had wished me a good-
morning with the usual “ as long as it lasts ” tacked to it, “ if
thou art quite willing, I’ll conduct thee to the court of our gra-
cious mistress, Queen Galaxa. Our wise men have often dis-
coursed to her concerning the upper world and the terrible
sufferings of its people, exposed as they are to be first frozen by
the pitiless cold and then burned by the scorching rays of what
they call their sun, and she will no doubt deign to be pleased at
sight of thee, although I must warn thee that thou art most
uncomely, that thou seemst so black and hard to me as scarcely
to be human, but rather a bit of living earth or rock. I greatly
fear me that thou wilt make our people extremely vain by com-
parison. Thy four-footed companion we know well by sight,
having often seen his petrified image in the rocks of the dark
chambers of our world.”

“Master Cold Soul,” said I, as we walked along, “ when thou
gettest to know me better thou wilt find me more comely, and
although I shall not be able to show thee my heart, I hope to
be able to prove to thee and thine that I have such a thing.”

“ No doubt, no doubt, little baron,” exclaimed Master Cold

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Soul, “ but be not offended. It is not more pleasant for me to
tell thee these disagreeable things than it is for thee to hear
them, but I am paid to do it and I must earn my wage. Vanity
grows apace in our world, and I prick its bubbles whenever I
see them.”

To my great wonder I now discovered that the world of the
Mikkamenkies had its lakes and rivers like our own, only of
course they were smaller and mirror-faced, being never visited
by the faintest zephyr. To my question as to whether they
were peopled with living things. Master Cold Soul informed me
that they literally swarmed with the most delicious fish, both
ill scales and shells.

“ But think not, little baron,” he added, “ that we of Goggle
Land have no other food than such as we draw from the water ;
for in our gardens grow many kinds of delicate vegetables,
springing up in a single night almost as light as foam and just
as white. But we are small eaters, little baron, and rarely find
it necessary to put to death a large shellfish. We merely lay
hold of his great claw, which he obligingly drops into our
hand, and forthwith sets about growing another.”

“ But tell me, I pray thee. Master Cold Soul,” said I, “ where
ye find the silk to weave such soft and beautiful stuff as that
thy garment is fashioned from ? ”

“ In this under world of ours, little baron,” replied INIaster
Cold Soul, “ there are many vast recesses not reached by the
River of Light, and in these dark chambers flit about huge
night moths, like restless spirits forever on the wing, but of
course they are not, for we find their eggs glued against the
rocky sides of these caverns and collect them carefully. The
worms that are hatched from them spin huge cocoons so large
that one may not be hidden in my hand, and these unwound
give unto our looms all the thread they need.”

“ And the beautiful Avood,” I continued, “ which I see about
me carved and fashioned into so many articles, whence comes
it?”

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“ From the quarries,” answered Master Cold Soul.

“ Quarries ?” I repeated wonderingly.

“ Why, yes, little baron,” said he, “ for we have quarries of
wood as no doubt thou hast quarries of stone. Our wise men
tell us that thousands and tliousands of years ago vast forests
grown in your world were in the upheavals and fallings-in of
the earth’s crust thrust down into ours, the gigantic trunks
wedged closely together, and standing bolt upright just as they
grew. At least, so we find them when we have dug away the
hai-dened clay that has shut them in these many ages. But see,
little baron, we are now entering the city. Yonder is the
royal palace — wilt walk with me thither?”

Ah, dear friends, would that I could make you see this beau-
tiful city of the under world just as it showed itself to me then,
spread out so gloriously beneath the glittering domes and
vaulted corridors, from which poured down upon the exquisitely
carved and polished entrances to the living chambers of this
happy folk, a flood of white light apparently more dazzling
than our noonday sun !

It was a sight so strangely beautiful that many times I paused
to gaze upon it. Young and old, all clad in tlie same gracefully
flowing garbs of silk, now purple, now royal blue, and now
rich vermilion, were hurrying hither and thither, each armed
with the inevitable black fan, and the baby face of each aglow
with life and sweet content, while a hundred fountains spring-
ing from crystal basins glistened in the dazzling white light,
and ten times a hundred flags azid gonfalons hung listless but
rich in splendor from invisible wires. Strange music came
floating along from the gracefully shaped barges with silken
awnings, which were gliding noiselessly over the surface of the
winding river, the oars stirring the waters until the wake
seemed a path through molten silver.

As Bulger and I followed Master Cold Soul along the streets
of polished marble, it was not long before a crowd of Mikka-
menkies was at our heels, whispering all sorts of uncompli-

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mentary things about us, mingled with not a few fits of
suppressed laughter.

The Court Depressor reproved them sternly.

“ Cease your ill-timed mirth,” said he, “ and go about your
business. Must I pause and tell you a grewsome tale to check
your foolish gayety? Know ye not that all tins silly mirth
doth quicken your hearts and make them run down just so
much sooner ? ”

At these words of Master Cold Soul they fell back, and put
an end to their giggling, but it was only for a moment, and by
the time we reached the portal of the royal palace, a still
louder and noisier crowd was close behind us.

Master Cold Soul suddenl}^ halted, and drawing forth a huge
pocket-handkerchief, began to weep furiously. It was not with-
out its effect, and from that moment I could see that the Mik-
kamenkies were inclined to take a more serious view of my
arrival in their city, although it was only Cold Soul’s presence
that kept them from bursting out into fits of violent laughter.

Above the portals of the queen’s palace there were large
openings hewn in the rock for the purpose of admitting light
into the royal apartments ; but these windows, if they may be
called such, were hung with silken curtains of delicate colors, so
that the light which entered the throne room was tempered and
softened. The room itself was likewise hung with silken stuffs,
which gave it a look of Oriental splendor ; but never in my
travels among strange peoples of far-away lands had my eyes
ever rested upon any work of art that equalled the crystal
throne upon which sat Galaxa, Queen of the Mikkamenkies.

In the upper world most diligent search had never been able
to unearth a piece of rock crystal more than about three feet in
diameter; but here in Queen Galaxa’s throne four glorious
columns at least fifteen feet in height, and at their base three
feet in diameter, shot up in matchless splendor. Their low^er
parts shut in spangles of gold that glittered with ever-varying
hues as a different light fell upon them. The cross pieces and

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pieces making up the back and arms had been chosen on account
of the exquisitely beautiful hair and needle-shaped crystals of
other metals which they enclosed. A silken baldachin of rare
beauty covered in the throne, and from its edges dropped
heavy cords and tassels of rich color and the perfection of
human handicraft as to fineness and finish.

At the foot of the throne sat the young princess Crystallina;
and standing behind her, and engaged in combing her long
silken tresses, was her favorite waiting-maid, Damozel Glow
Stone, while around and about, in files and group-wise, stood
lords and ladies, courtiers and counsellors, by the dozen.

As Master Cold Soul advanced to salute the queen, a throng
of the idlers who had followed at our heels crowded into the
anteroom with loud outbursts of laughter. The Court De-
pressor was greatly incensed, and turning upon the throng he
began weeping again with wonderful energy ; but I noticed that
it was nothing but sound : not a tear fell to obscure the crystal
clearness of his eyes. Then he began chanting a sort of song
which was intended to have a depressing influence on the wild
mirth of the Mikkamenkies. I can only recollect one verse of
this solemn chant of the Court Depressor. It ran as follows : —

“ Weep, Mikkamenkies, weep, O weep.

For the eyeless man in the City of Light,

For the mouthless man in Plenty’s bowers.

For the earless man in Music’s realm.

For the noseless man in the Kingdom of flowers,

Weep, Mikkamenkies, weep, O weep !”

But they only laughed the louder, crying out, —

“ Nay, Master Cold Soul, we will not weep for them ; weep
for them tliyself.” At last Queen Galaxa raised the slender
golden wand, tipped with a diamond point, that lay within her
hand, and instantly a hush came upon the whole place, while
every eye was riveted upon Bulger and me.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER IX

BULGER AND I ARE PRESENTED TO QUEEN GALAXA, THE
LADY OF THE CRYSTAL THRONE. — HOW SHE RECEIVED
US. — HER DELIGHT OVER BULGER, WHO GIVES PROOF OF
HIS WONDERFUL INTELLIGENCE IN IVIANY WAYS. — HOW
THE QUEEN CREATES HIM LORD BULGER. — ALL ABOUT
THE THREE WISE MEN IN WHOSE CARE WE ARE PLACED
BY QUEEN GALAXA.

Owing to the soft air, the never-varying temperature, and
the absence of all noise and dust, the Mikkamenkies, although
they die in the end like other folk, yet do they never seem to
grow old. Their skin remains soft and free from wrinkles,
and their eyes as clear and bright as the crystal of Queen
Galaxa’s throne.

At the time of our arrival in the Land of the Transparent
Folk, Queen Galaxa’s heart had almost run down. In about
two weeks more it would come quietly and gently to a stop ; for,
as I have already told you, dear friends, the heart of a Mikka-
menky being perfectly visible when the dazzling white light in
its full strength was allowed to shine through his body, why, it
was a very easy matter for a physician to take a look at the
organ of life, and tell almost to the hour when it would exhaust
itself — in other words, run down. Galaxa looked every inch a
real queen as she half-reclined upon her glorious crystal throne.
She was clad in long, flowing silk garments of a right royal
purple, and the gems which encircled her neck and wrists would
have put to shame the crown jewels of any monarch of the
upper world. Her garb had very much the cut and style of
the ancient Greek costume, and the gold sandals worn by her
added to the resemblance ; but the one thing that excited my

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wonder more than all the others put together was her hair, so
long, so fine and silken was it, such a mass of it was there, and
so dazzling white was it — not the blue or yellow white that
comes of age in our world, but a milk white, a cotton white.
And as we drew near, to Bulger’s but not to my amazement,
her hair began to quiver and rustle and rise, until it buried her
whole throne completely out of sight. Of course I knew that,
seated as she was upon a throne of glass, it was only necessary
to send a gentle current of electricity through her to make her
wonderful head of hair stand up in this manner, like the white
and filmy tentacles of some gigantic creature of the sea, half-
plant, half-animal.

“ Rise, little baron,” said Queen Galaxa, as I dropped upon my
right knee on the lowest step of the throne, “ and be welcome to
our kingdom. Whilst thou may be pleased to tarry here, my
people shall bestir themselves to show thee all that may seem
wonderful in thine eyes ; for although our wise men have often
discussed to us of the upper world, yet art thou its first inhabit-
ant to visit us, and thy wonderful companion is right welcome
too. Can he talk, little baron?”

“Not exactly. Queen Galaxa,” said I with low obeisance,
“ yet he can understand me and I him.”

“He is quite harmless, is he not?” asked the queen.

You may try to imagine how I felt, dear friends, when as I
was about to say, “ Perfectly so, royal lady,” to my amazement
I saw Bulger advance and sniff at the Princess Crystallina and
then draw back and show his teeth as she stretched out her
hand to caress him.

Bending over him I reproved him in a whisper, and bade him
kneel before the queen. This he proceeded to do, saluting her
wdth three very stately bows, at which everybody laughed
heartily.

“ I would have him come nearer,” said the queen, “ so that I
may lay my hand upon him.”

At a sign from me Bulger began to lick his fore-paws very

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carefully, and then having wiped them on the rug, sprang up
the steps of the throne and placed his front feet upon Queen
Galaxa’s lap.

The fair ruler of the Mikkamenkies was delighted with this
sample of Bulger’s fine manners, and in order to amuse her still
further I proceeded to put Bulger through many of his quaint
tricks and curious feats, bidding him “ say his prayers,” “ feign
death,” “weep for his sweetheart,” “ count ten,” “walk upright,”
“go lame and cry to tell how it hurts.”

Scarcely had he gone half around the circle, feigning lame-
ness, when the damozel Glow Stone began to weep herself, and
stooping down commenced to caress Bulger and to kiss his lame
foot, caresses which, to my more than surprise, Bulger was not
slow in returning, and later too when I bade him choose the
maiden he loved best and kiss her hand, he bounded straight
toward Glow Stone and bestowed not one but twenty kisses
upon her outstretched hands, while the princess Crystallina
shrank away in fear and disgust from the “ ugly beast,” as she
termed him.

“ Bid him bring my handkerchief to me, little baron,” cried
Galaxa, throwing it on the floor. I did as the queen commanded,
but Bulger refused to obey.

“ Thou seest, Queen Galaxa,” said I with a low bow, “ he
refuses to lift the handkerchief without a command from thy
royal self,” which delicate compliment pleased the lady mightily.

“How comes it, little baron,” she asked, “that thou shouldst
be of noble lineage and thy brother, as thou callest him, plain
Bulger?”

“ It comes, royal lady,” said I right humbly, “ as it often comes
in the world which I inhabit, that honors go to them that least
deserve them.”

“Well, then, little baron,” cried Galaxa gayly, “though I be
but a petty sovereign compared with thine, yet may small rulers
do acts of great justice. Bid thy four-footed brother kneel before
us.”

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At a word from me, Bulger prostrated himself on the steps
of Galaxa’s crystal throne, and laid his head at her very feet.

Leaning forward she touched him lightly with her golden
wand, and exclaimed, “ Rise, Lord Bulger, rise ! Queen Galaxa
seated on her crystal throne bids Lord Bulger rise ! ”

In an instant Bulger raised himself on his hind feet and laid
his head in the queen’s lap, while the whole room rang with
loud huzzas, and every lady gently clapped her frail and glass-
like hands, save the princess Crystallina who feigned to be
asleep.

Queen Galaxa now undid a string of pearls from her neck and
tied them with her own hands around Lord Bulger’s — and so
it was that my four-footed brother ceased to be plain Bulger.
Then turning to her counsellors of state. Queen Galaxa bade
them assign a royal apartment to Lord Bulger and me, and gave
strict orders that the severest punishment be at once visited
upon any Mikkamenky who should dare to laugh at us or to
make disrespectful remarks concerning our dark eyes and skins
and weather-beaten appearance, for, as the royal lady said to her
people, “Ye might look worse than they were ye compelled to
live on the outside instead of the inside of the world, exposed
to biting blasts, piercing cold, and clouds of suffocating dust.”

By the queen’s orders three of the wisest of the Mikkamen-
kies were selected to attend Bulger and me, look after our wants,
explain everything to us — in a word, do all in their power to
make our stay in Goggle Land as pleasant as possible.

Their names, as nearly as I can translate them, were Doctor
Nebulosus, Sir Amber O’Pake, and Lord Cornucore. I should
explain to you, dear friends, the meaning of these names, for
you might be inclined to think that Doctor Somewhat Cloudy,
Sir Clear-as-Amber ; and Lord Heart-of-Horn might indicate that
they were more or less muddled in their intellects. Far from it :
I have already stated to you they were three of the very wisest
men in the Land of the Transparent Folk, and the lack of clear-
ness indicated by their names had reference solely to their eyes.

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Now, as you know, the learned men of our upper world have
a different look from ordinary folk. They are stoop-shouldered,
shaggy-eyebrowed, long-haired, pursed-lipped, near-sighted,
shambling-gaited. Well, the only effect that long years of
deep study had upon the Mikkamenkies was to rob their beauti-
ful crystal-like eyes of more or less of their clearness.

Now I think you’ll understand why these three learned Mik-
kamenkies were named as they were.

At any rate, they were, in spite of their strange names, three
most charming gentlemen ; and no matter how many times I
might ask the same question over again, they were always ready
with an answer quite as polite as the one first given me. They
did everything that I had a right possibly to expect them to do.
Indeed, there was but one single thing which I would have fain
had them do, and that was to let me look through them.

This they most carefully avoided doing ; and no matter how
warmed up they might become in their descriptions, and no
matter how on the alert I was to catch the coveted peep, the
inevitable black fan was always in the way.

Naturally, not only they, but all the Transparent Folk, felt a
repugnance to have a perfect stranger look through them, and I
couldn’t blame them for it either. I despaired of ever getting
a chance of seeing a human heart beating away for dear life, for
all the world just like the swing of a pendulum or the vibration
of a balance wheel.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER X

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF INIY CONVERSATIONS WITH DOCTOR
NEBULOSUS, SIR AMBER O’PAKE, AND LORD CORNUCORE,
WHO TELL ME ]SIANY THINGS THAT I NEVER KNEW BEFORE,
FOR WHICH I WAS VERY GRATEFUL.

Lord Bulger and I were more than pleased with our new
friends, Doctor Nebulosus, Sir Amber O’Pake, and Lord Cornu-
core, although so eager were they to make us thoroughly
comfortable, that they overdid the matter at times, and left me
scarcely a moment to myself in which to make an entry in my
notebook. They were extremely solicitous lest in my ignorance
I should set down something wrong about them.

“ For,” said Sir Amber O’Pake, “now that thou hast found
the way to this under world of ours, little baron, I feel assured
that we shall have a number of visitors from thy people every
year or so, and I have already issued orders to have extra beds
made as soon as the wood can be quarried.”

Doctor Nebulosus gave me a very interesting account of the
various ailments which the Mikkamenkies suffer from. “ All
sickness among our people, little baron,” said he, “ is purely
mental or emotional ; that is, of the mind or feelings. There is
no such thing as bodily infirmity among us. Wine and strong
drink are unknown in our world, and the food we eat is light
and easily digested. We are never exposed to the danger of
breathing a dust-laden atmosphere, and while we are an active
and industrious people, yet we sleep a great deal ; for, as our
laws forbid the use of lamps or torches, except for the use of
those toiling in the dark chambers, it is not possible for us to
ruin our health by turning night into day. We go to bed the

64 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

very moment the River of Light ceases to flow. The only
ailment that ever gives me the least trouble is iburyufrosniaN

“ Pray, what is the nature of that ailment ? ” I asked.

“ It is an inclination to be too happy,” replied Doctor Neb-
ulosus gravely, “ and I regret to say that several of our people
attacked with this ailment have shortened their lives by refus-
ing to take my remedies. It usually develops very slowly,
beginning with an inclination to giggle, which, after a while, is
succeeded by violent fits of laughter.

“For instance, little baron, when thou earnest among us,
many of our people were attacked with a violent form of
iburyufrosnia ; and although Master Cold Soul, the Court De-
pressor, made great efforts to check it, yet he was quite power-
less to do so. It spread over the city with remarkable rapidity.
Without knowing why, our workmen at their work, our children
at their play, our people in doors and out, began to laugh and to
be dangerously happj’’. I made examinations of several of the
worst cases, and discovered that at the rate they were beating
the hearts of most of them would run down in a single week.
It was terrible. A council Avas hastily held, and it was deter-
mined to conceal thee and Lord Bulger from the public view,
but happily my skill got the upper hand of the attack.”

“ Didst increase the number of pills to be taken ? ” I asked.

“ No, little baron,” said Doctor Nebulosus ; “ I increased their
size and covered them with a dry powder, which made them
extremely difficult to swallow, and in this way compelled those
taking them to cease their laughing. But there were a number
of cases so violent that they could not be cured in this way.
These I ordered to be strapped in at the waist with broad belts,
and to have their mouths held pried open with wooden wedges.
As thou mayst understand, this made laughing so difficult that
they speedily gave it up altogether.

“ Ah, little baron,” continued the wise doctor Avith a sigh,
“ that Avas a sorry day for the human race Avhen it learned hoAV
to laugh. It is my opinion that we owe this useless agitation

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of our bodies to you people of the upper world. Exposed as ye
were to piercing winds and biting frosts, ye contracted the habit
of shivering to keep warm, and, little by little, this shivering
habit so grew upon you, that ye kept up the shivering whether
ye were cold or not ; only ye called it by another name. Now,
my knowledge of the human body teaches me that this quivering
of the flesh is a very wise provision of nature to keep the blood
in motion, and in this way to save the human body from perish-
ing from the cold ; but why should we quiver when we are
happy, little baron ? All pleasure is the thought, and yet at the
very moment when we should keep our bodies in as perfect
repose as possible, we begin this ridiculous shivering. Do we
shiver when Ave look upon the beauties of the River of Light, or
listen to sweet music, or gaze upon the loving countenance of
our gracious Queen Galaxa ? But worse than all, little baron,
this senseless quivering and shivering which we call laughter,
unlike good, deep, long-drawn, wholesome sighs, empty the lungs
of air without filling them again, and thus do we often see
these gigglers and laughers fall over in fainting fits, absolutely
clioked by their own wild and unreasoning action. I have
always contended, little baron, that we alone of all animals had
the laughing habit, and I am now delighted to have my opinion
confirmed by my acquaintance with the wise and dignified Lord
Bulger. Observe him. He knows quite as well as we what it
is to be pleased, to be amused, to be delighted, but he doesn’t
think it necessary to have recourse to fits of shivering and shud-
dering. Through the brightened eye — true window of the
soul — I can see how happy he is. I can measure his joy ; I
can take note of his contentment.”

I was delighted with this learned discourse of the gentle
Doctor Nebulosus, and made notes of it lest the points of his
argument might escape my memory, the more pleased was I in
that he proved my faithful Bulger to be so wisely constructed
and regulated by nature.

I made particular inquiry of my friends. Sir Amber O’Pake

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and Lord Cornucore, as to whether Queen Galaxa ever had any
trouble in governing her people.

“ None whatever,” was the answer. “ In many a long year
has it only been necessary on one or two occasions to summon
a Mikkamenky before the magistrate and examine his heart
under a strong light. The only punishment allowed by our
laws is confinement for a shorter or longer time in one of the
dark chambers. The severest sentence ever known to have
been passed by one of our magistrates was twelve hours in
length. But in all honesty, we must admit, little baron, that
falsehood and deception are unknown amongst us for the simple
reason that, being transparent, it is impossible for a Mikkamenky
to deceive a brother without being caught in the act. There-
fore why make the attempt? The very moment one of us
begins to say one thing while he is thinking another, his eyes
cloud up and betray him, just us the crystal-clear weather glass
clouds up at the approach of a storm in the upper world. But
this, of course, little baron, is only true of our thoughts. Our
laws allow us to hide our feelings by the use of the black
fan. No one may look upon another’s heart unless its owner
wills it. It is a very grave offence for one Mikkamenky to look
through another without that one’s permission. But as thou
wilt readily understand, inasmuch as we are by nature trans-
parent, it is utterly impossible for a marriage to prove an
unhappy one, for the reason that when a youth declares his
love for a maiden, they both have the right by law to look
upon each other’s hearts, and in this way they can tell exactly
the strength of the love they have for each other.” This and
many other strange and interesting things did my new friends.
Doctor Nebulosus, Sir Amber O’Pake, and Lord Cornucore
impart unto me, and right grateful was I to good Queen Galaxa
for having chosen them for me. Good friends are better than
gold, although we may not think it at the time.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUiyD JOURNEY

CHAPTER XI

PLEASANT DAYS PASSED AMONG THE MIKKAMENKIES, AND
WONDERFUL THINGS SEEN BY US. — THE SPECTRAL GARDEN,
AND A DESCRIPTION OF IT. — OUR MEETING WITH DAMOZEL
GLOW STONE, AND WHAT CAME OF IT.

From now on Lord Bulger and I made ourselves perfectly at
home among the Mikkamenkies. One of the royal barges was
placed at our disposal, and when we grew tired of walking about
and gazing at the wonders of this beautiful city of the under
world, we stepped aboard our barge and were rowed hither and
thither on the glassy river ; and if I had not seen it myself I
never would have believed that any kind of shellfish could
ever be taught to be so obliging as to swim to the surface and
offer one of their huge claws for our dinner, politely dropping
it in our hand the moment we had laid hold of it. On one of
the river banks I noticed a long row of wooden compartments
looking very much like a grocer’s bins ; but you may think how
amused Bulger and I were upon coming closer to this long row
of little houses to find that they were turtle nests, and that quite
a number of the turtles were sitting comfortably in their nests
busy laying their eggs — which, let me assure you, were the most
dainty tidbits I ever tasted.

I think I informed you that the river flowing through Gog-
gle Land was fairly swarming with delicious fish, the carp and sole
being particularly delicate in flavor ; and knowing, as I did, what
a tender-hearted folk the Mikkamenkies are, I had been not a
little puzzled in my mind as to how they had ever been able to
summon up courage enough to drive a spear into one of these
fish, which were as tame and playful as a lot of kittens or pup-

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pies, and followed our barge hither and thither, snapping up the
food we tossed to them, and leaping into the air, where they
glistened like burnished silver as the white light sparkled on
their scales.

But the mystery was solved one day when I saw one of the
fishermen decoying a score or more of fish into a sort of pen
shut off from the river by a wire netting. Scarcely had he
closed the gates when, to my amazement, I saw the fish one after
the other come to the surface and float about on their sides,
stone dead.

“ This, little baron,” explained the man in charge, “ is the
death chamber. Hidden at the bottom of this dark pool lie
several electric eels of great size and power, and when our peo-
ple want a fresh supper of fish we simply open these gates and
decoy a shoal of them inside by tossing their favorite food into
the water. The executionei'S are awaiting them, and in a few
instants the fish, while enjoying their repast and suspecting no
harm, are painlessly put to death, as thou hast seen.”

One part of the city of the Transparent Folk which attracted
Bulger and me very much was the royal gardens. It was a
weird and uncanny place, and upon my first visit I walked
through its paths and beneath its arbors upon my toes and with
bated breath, as you might steal into some bit of fairy-land, look-
ing anxiously from side to side as if at every step you expected
some sprite or goblin to trip you up with a tough spider-web, or
brush your cheeks with their cold and satiny wings.

Now, dear friends, you must first be told that with the loss of
sunshine and the open air, the flowers and shrubs and vines of
this underground world gradually parted with their perfumes
and colors, their leaves and petals and stems and tendrils grow-
ing paler and paler in hue, like lovelorn maids whose sweet-
hearts had never come back from the war. Month by month
the dark greens, the blush pinks, the golden yellows, and the
deep blues pined away, longing for the lost sunshine and the
wooing breeze they loved so dearly, until at last the transforma-

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tion was complete, and there they all stood or hung bleached to
utter whiteness, like those fantastic clumps of flowem and
wreaths of vines which the feathery snow of April builds in the
leafless shrubs and trees.

I cannot tell you, dear friends, what a strange feeling came
over me as I stepped within this spectral garden where ghost-
like vines clung in fantastic forms and figures to the dark trel-
lises, and where tall lilies, whiter than the down of eider, stood
bolt upright like spirits doomed to eternal silence, denied even
the speech of perfume, and where huge clusters of snowy chrys-
anthemums, fluffy feathery forms, seemed pressing their soft
bodies together like groups of banished celestials in a sort of
silent despair as they felt the warmth and glow of sunlight
slowly and gradually quitting their souls ; where lower down,
great roses with snowy petals whiter than the sea-shells hung
motionless, bursting open with eager effort, as if listening for
some signal that would dissolve the spell put upon them, and
give them back the sunshine, and with it their color and their
perfume ; where lower still beds of violets bleached white as
fleecy clouds seemed wrapt in silent sorrow at loss of the heav-
enly perfume wliich had been theirs on earth ; where, above tlie
lilies’ heads shot long, slender, spectral stalks of sunflowers almost
invisible, loaded at their ends with clusters of snowy flowers
thus suspended like white faces looking down through the silent
air, and waiting, waiting for the sunshine that never came ; and
higher still all over and above these spectral flowers, intwining
and inwrapping and falling festoon and garland-wise, crept and
ran like unto long lines of escaping phantoms, ghostly vines
with ghostly blossoms, bent and twisted and Avrapped and coiled
into a thousand strange and fantastic forms and figures which
the white light with its inky shadows made alive and half human,
so that movement and voice alone were needful to make this
garden seem peopled with sorrowing sprites banished to these
subterranean chambers for strange misdeeds done on earth and
condemned to wait ten thousand years ere sunlight and their
color and their perfume should be given back to them again.

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While strolling through the royal gardens one day, Bulger
suddenly gave a low cry and bounded on ahead, as if his eyes
had fallen upon the familiar form of some dear friend.

When I came up with him he was crouching beside the damozel
Glow Stone who, seated on one of the garden benches, was
caressing Bulger’s head and ears with one of her soft hands
with its filmy-like skin, while the other held its black fan pressed
tightly against her bosom.

She looked up at me with her crystal eyes, and smiled faintly
as I drew near.

“ Thou seest, little baron,” she murmured, “ Lord Bulger and
I have not forgotten each other.” Since our presentation at
court I had been going through and through my mind in search
of some reason for Bulger's sudden -affection for damozel Glow
Stone, but had found none.

I was the more perplexed as she was but the maid of honor,
while the fair princess Crystallina sat on the very steps of the
throne.

But I said nothing save to reply that I was greatly pleased to
see it and to add that where Bulger’s love went, mine was sure
to follow.

“ Oh, little baron, if I could but believe that ! ” sighed the
fair damozel.

“ Thou mayst,” said I, “ indeed thou mayst.”

“ Then, if I may, little baron,” she replied, “ I will, and prithee
come and sit beside me here, only till I bid thee, look not through
me. Dost promise ? ”

“ I do, fair damozel,” was my answer.

“ And thou. Lord Bulger, lie there at my feet,” she continued,
“ and keep thy wise eyes fixed upon me and thy keen ears wide
open.”

“ Little baron, if both thine and our worlds were filled with
sorrowing hearts, mine would be the heaviest of them all.
List ! oh, list to the sad, sad tale of the sorrowing maid with the
speck in her heart, and, when thou knowest all, give me of thy
wisdom.”

CRYSTALLINA*3 HEART ON A SCREEN.

A MAFcVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XII

THE SAD, SAD TALE OF THE SOREOWING PRINCESS WITH A
SPECK IN HER HEART, AND WHAT ALL HAPPENED WHEN
SHE HAD ENDED IT, WHICH THE READER MUST READ FOR
HIMSELF IF HE AVOULD KNOAAL

“Little baron and dear Lord Bulger,” began the crystal-
eyed damozel, after she had eased her soul of its load of Avoe
by tiiree long and deep, deep sighs, “ know then that I am not
the damozel Glow Stone, but none other than the royal piincess
Crystallina herself ; that she Avhose hair I comb should comb
mine ; that she whom I have served for ten long years should
have served me I ”

“ And to think, O princess,” I burst out joyfully, “ that my
beloved Bulger should have been the first to discover that she
who was seated on the steps of the crystal throne was not
entitled to the seat ; to think that his subtle intellect should
liave been the first to scent out the Avrong that had been done
thee ; his keen eye the first to go to the bottom of truth’s well ;
but, fair princess, I am bursting Avith impatience to knoAv hoAV
thou thyself didst ever discover the Avrong that has been done
thee.”

“ That thou slialt speedily knoAV, little baron,” ansAvered
Crystallina, “and that thou mayst know all that 1 knoAV Til
begin at tlie very beginning : The day I Avas born there was
great rejoicing in tlie land of the Mikkamenkies, and the people
gathered in front of the royal palace and laughed and cried by
turns, so happy Avere they to think tliey Avere to be governed by
another princess after Queen Galaxa’s lieart should run doAvn ;
for, many years ago, a bad king had made them very unhappy.

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and they had hoped and prayed that no more such would come
to reign over them. And pretty soon one of them began to tell
the others what he thought the little princess would be like.

‘She will be the fairest that ever sat upon the crystal throne.
Her hands and feet will be like pearls tipped with coral ; her
hair whiter than the river’s foam; and from her beautiful eyes
will burst the radiance of her pure soul, and her heart, Oh, her
heart will be like a little lump of frozen water so clear and so
transparent will it be, so like a bit of purest crystal, bright and
flawless as a diamond of the first water, and therefore let her be
called the princess Crystallina, or the Maid with the Crystal
Heart.’

“ Forthwith the cry went up : ‘ Ay, let her be called Crystal-
lina, or the Maid with the Crystal Heart,’ and Queen Galaxa
heard the cry of her people and sent them word that it should
be as they wished — that I should be the Princess Crystallina.

“ But. ah me, that I should have lived to tell it ! after a few
days the nurse came to my royal mother wringing her hands and
pouring down a flood of tears.

Throwing herself on her knees, she whispered to the queen,
‘ Royal mistress, bid me die rather than tell thee what I
know.’

“ Being ordered to speak, the nurse informed Queen Galaxa
that she had that day for the first time held me up to the light
and had discovered that there was a speck in inj^ heart.

“ The queen uttered a cry of horror and swooned. When
she came to herself she directed that I should be brought to her
and held up to the light so that she might see for herself. Alas,
too true ! there was the speck in my heart sure enough. I was
not worthy of the sweet name which her loving people had
bestowed upon me. They would turn from me with horror ;
they would never consent to have me for their queen when the
truth should become known. They would not be moved by a
mother’s prayers : they would turn a deaf ear to every one who
should be bold enough to advise them to accept a princess with

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a speck in her heart, when they had thouglit they were
getting one well deserving of the title they had bestowed upon
her.

“ Queen Galaxa knew that something must be done at once ;
that it would be time and labor lost to attempt to reason with
the disappointed people, so she set to work thinking up some
way out of her trouble. Now, it so happened, little baron, that
the very day I had come into the world a babe had been born
to one of Queen Galaxa’s serving women ; and so hastily sum-
moning the woman she ordered her to bring her babe into the
royal bed-chamber and leave it there, promising that it should
be brought up as my foster-sister. But no sooner had the serv-
ing woman gone her way rejoicing than the nurse was ordered
to change the children in the cradle, and in a few moments
Glow Stone was wrapt in my richly embroidered blanket and I
swathed up in her plain coverlets.

“ How things went for several years I know not, but one day,
ah, how well I recollect it ! my little mind was puzzled by hear-
ing Crystallina cry out: ‘Nay, nay, dear mamma, ’tis not fair; I
like it not. Each day when thou comest to us thou givest
Glow Stone ten'kisses and me but a single one.’ Then would
Queen Galaxa smile a sad smile and bestow some bauble upon
Crystallina to coax her back to contentment again.

“ And so we went on, Crystallina and I, from one year to
another until we were little maids well grown, and she sat on
the throne and wore royal purple stitched with gold, and I plain
white; but still most of the kisses fell to my share. And I
marvelled not a little at it, but dared not ask why it was. How-
ever, once when I was alone with Queen Galaxa, seated on my
cushion in the corner plying my needle and thinking of the sail
we were to have on the river that day, suddenly I was startled
to see the queen throw herself on her knees in front of me, and
to feel her clasp me in her arms and cover 1113' face and head
with tears and kisses, as she sobbed and moaned, —

“ ‘ O m3' babe, my lost babe, my blessing and my jo3’, wilt

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never, never, never come back to me? Art gone forever?
Must I give thee up, oh, must I?’

“ ‘ Nay, Royal Lady,’ I stammered in my more than wonder
at her words and actions. ‘ Thou art in a dream. Awake, and
see clearly ; I am not Crystallina. I am Glow Stone, thy foster-
child. I’ll hie me straight and bring my royal sister to
thee.’

“ But she would not let me loose, and for all answer showered
more kisses on me till I was well-nigh smothered, so tight she
held me pressed against her bosom, while around and over me
her long thick tresses fell like a woven mantle.

“And then she told me all — all that I have told thee, little
baron, and charged me never to impart it unto any soul in
Goggle Land ; and I made a solemn promise unto her that I
never would.”

“ And thou hast kept thy word like a true princess as thou
art,” said I cheerily, “for I am not of thy world, fair Crystal-
lina.”

“ Now that I have told thee the sad tale of the sorrowing
princess with the speck in her heart, little baron,” murmured
Crystallina, fixing her large and radiant eyes upon me, “ there
is but one thing more for me to do, and it is to let thee look
through me, so that thou mayst know exactly what counsel to
give.” And so saying the fair princess rose from her seat, and
having placed herself in front of me with a flood of white light
falling full upon her back, she lowered her black fan and bade
me gaze upon the heavy heart which she had carried about with
her all these years, and tell her exactly how large the speck
was and -where it lay, and what color it was.

I was overjoyed to get an opportunity at last to look through
one of the Mikkamenkies, and my own heart bounded with satis-
faction as I looked and looked upon that mysterious little thing,
nay, rather a tiny being, living, breathing, palpitating within
her breast ; now slow and measured as she dwelt in thought
upon her sad fate, now beating faster and faster as the hope

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bubbled up in her mind that possibly I might be able to counsel
her so wisely that an end would come to all her sorrow.

“ Well, wise little baron,” she murmured anxiously, “ what
seest thou? Is it very large ? In what part is it? Is it black
as night or some color less fatal ? ”

“ Take courage, fair princess,” said I, ‘‘ it is very small and
lies just beneath the bow on the left side. Nor is it black, but
reddish rather, as if a single drop of blood from the veins of thy
far distant ancestors had outlived them these thousands of years
and hardened there to tell whence thy people came.” The
princess wept tears of joy upon hearing these comforting words.

“ If it had been black,” she whispered “ I would have lain me
down in this bed of violets and never risen more till my people
had come to bear me to my grave in the silent burial chamber —
unvisited by the River of Light.”

At this sad outbreak Bulger whined piteously and licked the
princess’s hands as he looked up at her with his dark eyes radi-
ant with sympathy.

She was greatly cheered by this message of comfort, and it
moved me, too, by its heartiness.

“ List, fair princess,” said I gravely. “ I OAvn the task is not
a liglit one, but hope for the best. I would that we had more
time, but as thou knowest Queen Galaxa’s heart will soon run
down, therefore must we act with despatch as well as wisdom.
But first of all must I speak with the queen and gain her con-
sent to act for thee in this matter.”

“ That, I fear me, she will never grant,” moaned Crystallina.
“ However, thou art so much wiser than I — do as best seems to
thee.”

The next thing to be done, fair princess,” I added solemnly,
“is to show thy heart boldly aind fearlessly to thy people.”

“Nay, little baron,” she exclaimed, rising to her feet, “that
may not be, that may not be, for know that our law doth make it
treason itself for one of our people to look through a person of
royal blood. Oh, no, oh, no, little baron, that may never be! ”

A MAIlVELLOl/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“ Stay, sweet princess,” I urged in gentlest tones, “ not so
fast. Thou dost not know what I mean by showing thy heart
boldly to thy people. Never fear. I will not break the law of
the land, and yet they shall look upon the speck within thy
heart, and see how small it is and hear what I have to say about
it, and thou shalt not even be visible to them.”

“ O little baron,” murmured Crystallina, “ if this may only
be ! I feel they will forgive me. Thou art so wise and thy
words carry such strong hope to my poor, heavy heart that I
almost ” —

“Nay, fair princess,” I interrupted, “hope for the best, no
more. I am not wise enough to read the future, and from what
1 know of thy people they seem but little different from mine
own. Perchance I may be able to sway them toward my views,
and make them cry, ‘ Long live princess Crystallina ! ’ but I
can only promise thee to do my best. Betake thee now to the
palace, and scorn not for yet a day or so to take up the golden
comb and play the damozel Glow Stone in all humility.”

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XIII

HOW I SET TO WORK TO UNDO A WRONG THAT HAD BEEN DONE
IN THE KINGDOM OF THE MIKKAMENKIES, AND HOW BULGER
HELPED. — QUEEN GALAXA’s CONFESSION. — I AM CREATED
PRIME MINISTER AS LONG AS SHE LIVES. — WHAT TOOK
PLACE IN THE THRONE ROOM. — MY SPEECH TO THE MEN OF
GOGGLE LAND AFTER WHICH I SHOW THEM SOMETHING WORTH
SEEING. — HOW I WAS PULLED IN TWO DIFFERENT DIREC-
TIONS AND WHAT CAME OF IT.

The first thing I did after the genuine princess Crystallina
had left me was to seek out Doctor Nebulosus and learn from
him the exact number of hours before the queen’s heart would
run down.

As he had just been making an examination, he was able to tell
the very minute : it was seventeen hours and thirteen minutes,
rather a short time you must confess, dear friends, in which to
accomplish such an important piece of business as I had in mind.
I then made my way directly to the royal palace and demanded
a private audience with the Lady of the Crystal Throne.

With the advice of Sir Amber O’Pake and Lord Cornucore
she firmly but graciously refused to receive me, giving as an
excuse that the excitement that would be sure to follow an
interview with the “Man of Coal ” — so the Mikkamenkies had
named me — would shorten her life at least thirteen minutes.
But I was not to be put off in so unceremonious a manner.
Sitting down, I seized a pen and wrote the following words
upon a j)iece of glazed silk : —

“ To Galaxa, Queen of the Mikkamenhies^ Lady of the Cr'ystal
Throne.

“I, Lord Bulger, a Mikkamenkian Noble, Bearer of this, who
was the first to discover that the real princess was not sitting on

80 ■ A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

the steps of the Crystal Throne, demand an audience for my
Master Baron Sebastian von Troomp, commonly known as
‘ Little Baron Trump,’ and prompted by him I ask, What are
thirteen minutes of thy life, O Queen Galaxa, to the long
years of sorrow and disappointment in store for thy royal
child? ”

Taking this letter in his mouth, Bulger sprang away with long
and rapid bounds. In a few minutes he was in the presence of
the queen, for the guards had fallen back affrighted as they saw
him draw near with his dark eyes flashing indignation. Raising
himself upon his hind feet, he laid the letter in Galaxa’s hands.
The moment she had read it she fell into a swoon, and all was
stir and commotion in and round about the palace. I was has-
tily summoned and the audience chamber cleared of every
attendant save Doctor Nebulosus, Sir Amber O'Pake, Lord
Cornucore, Lord Bulger, and me.

“ Send for the damozel Glow Stone,” commanded the queen,
and when she had apj^eared, to the amazement of all saving
Bulger and me, Galaxa bade her mount the steps of the Crystal
Throne, then, having embraced her most tenderly, the queen
spoke these words : —

“ O faithful Councillors and wise friends from the upper world,
this is the real princess Crystallina, whom I have for all these
years wickedly and wrongfully kept from her high state and
royal privileges. She was born with a speck in her heart, and I
feared that it would be useless to ask my people to accept her
as my successor.”

“ Ay, Lady of the Crystal Throne,” exclaimed Lord Cornucore,
“thou hast wisely done. Thy people would never have received
her as Princess Crystallina, for, being by the laws of our land
denied the privilege to look for themselves, they never would
have believed that this spot in the princess’s heart was but a tiny
S[)eck like a single hair crystal in the arm of thy magnificent
throne. Therefore, O queen, we counsel thee not to imbitter
thy last hour's by differences with thy loving subjects.”

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“ M j Lord Cornucore,” said I with a low bow, “ I make bold to
raise my voice against tbine, and I crave permission from Queen
Galaxa to parley with her people.”

“Forbid it, royal lady! ” cried Sir Amber O’Pake savagely,
at which Bulger gave a low growl and showed his teeth.

“ Queen Galaxa,” I added gravely, “ a wrong confessed is half
redressed. This fair princess, 'tis true, hath a speck in her lieart
which ill accords with the name bestowed upon her by thy people.
Bid me be master until thy heart runs down, and by the Knight-
hood of all the Trumps I promise thee that thou shalt have three
hours of happiness ere tliy royal heart has ceased to beat ! ”

“ Be it so, little baron,” exclaimed Galaxa joyfully. “ I pro-
claim thee prime minister for the rest of my life.” At these
words Bulger broke out into a series of glad barks, and, raising
upon his hind legs, licked the queen’s hand in token of his grati-
tude, while the fair princess looked a love at me that was too
deep to put into words.

“ I had now but a few hours to act. The excitement, so Doc-
tor Nebulosus assured me, would shorten the queen’s life a full
hour.”

It had always been my custom to carry about with me a small
but excellent magnifying-glass, a double convex lens, for the
purpose of making examinations of minute objects, and also for
reading inscriptions too tine to be seen with the naked eye.
Hastily summoning a skilful metal worker, I instructed him to
set the lens in a short tube and to enclose that tube within
another, so that I could lengthen it at my pleasure. Then hav-
ing called together as many of the head men of the nation as
the throne room would hold, I requested Lord Cornucore to in-
form them of the confession winch Queen Galaxa had made ;
namely, that in reality damozel Glow Stone was princess Crys-
tallina and princess Crystallina was damozel Glow Stone.

They were stricken speechless by this piece of information,
but when Lord Cornucore went on to tell tlie whole story and
to explain to them why the queen had practised this deception

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upon them, they broke out into the wildest lamentation, rejoeat-
ing over and over again in piteous tones, —

“ A speck in her heart ! A speck in her heart ! O dire mis-
fortune ! O woful day ! She never can he our princess if she
hath a speck in her heart I ” By this time my arrangements
were complete. I had placed the princess Crystallina just out-
side the door of the throne room where she stood concealed be-
hind the thick hangings, and near her I had stationed Doctor
Nebulosus with a large circular mirror of burnished silver in his
hand. Calling out in a loud voice for silence, I thus addressed
the weeping subjects of Queen Galaxa : —

“O Mikkamenkies, Men of Goggle Land, Transparent Folk,
I count myself most happy to be among you at this hour and to
be permitted, by your gracious queen, to raise my voice in de-
fence of the unfortunate princess with the speck in her heart.
Being of noble birth and an inhabitant of another world, it was
lawful for me to look through the sorrowing princess, and I have
done it. Yes, Mikkamenkies, I have gazed upon her heart ; I
have seen the speck within it I Give ear. Men of Goggle Land,
and you shall know how that speck came there ; for it is not, as
you doubtless think, a coal-black spot within that fair enclosure,
clearer than the columns of Galaxa’s throne. Oh, no, Mikkamen-
kies, a thousand times no : it is a tiny blemish of reddish hue, a
drop of princely blood from the upper world, which I inhabit,
and this drop in all these countless centuries has coursed through
the veins of a thousand kings, and still kept its roseate glow,
still remembered the glorious sunshine which called it into being;
and now. Men of Goggle Land, lest you think that for some
dark purpose of mine own I speak other than the pure and sober
truth, behold, I show you the fair Crystallina’s heart, in its very
life and being as it is, beating and throbbing with hope and fear
comingled. Look and judge for yourselves ! And with this I
signalled to those on the outside of the palace to carry out mj^
instructions.

In an instant the thick curtains were drawn and the throne

A MAIiVELLO(/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

room was ^^'rapped in darkness, and at the same moment Doctor
Nebulosus, with his mirror, caught the strong, white rays of light
and threw them upon Ciystallina’s body, while I through an
opening in the hangings made haste to apply the tube to which
the lens had been fitted, and, catching the reflected image of her
heart, threw it up in plain and startling view upon the opposite
wall of the throne room. Upon seeing how small the speck was
and how truthfully I had described it, the Mikkamenkies fell
a-weeping for purest joy, and then, as if with one voice, they
burst out, —

“ Long live the fair princess Crystallina with the ruby speck
in her heart ! and ten thousand blessings on the head of little
Baron Trump and Lord Bulger for saving our land from cruel
dissensions I ” The people on the outside took up the cry, and
in a few moments the whole city was thronged with bands of
Queen Galaxa’s subjects, singing and dancing and telling of their
love for the fair princess with the ruby speck in her heart. I
had kept my word — Queen Galaxa would have at least three
hours of complete happiness ere her heart ran down.

But suddenly the River of Liglit began to flicker and dim its
flood of brilliant white rays.

Night was coming. Noiselessly, as if by magic, the Mikka-
menkies faded from my sight, stealing away in search of beds,
and as the gloom crept into the great throne room, some one
plucked me gently by the liand and a soft voice whispered, —

“ I love ! I love thee ! Oh, who other than I can tell how I
love thee ! ” and then a grip stronger than that gentle hand
seized me by the skirt of my coat and dragged me away slowly,
but surely, away, through the darkness, through the gloom, out
into the silent streets, ever away until at last that soft voice,
choking with a sob, ceased its pleading and gasped, “ Fare-
well, oh, farewell ! I dare go no farther I ” And so Bulger, in
his wisdom, led me on and ever on out of the City of the Mik-
kamenkies, out upon the Marble Highway !

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XIV

BULGER AND I TURN OUR BACKS ON THE FAIR DOMAIN OF

QUEEN CRYSTALLINA. — NATURE’S WONDERFUL SPEAKING-

TUBE. — crystallina’s attempt to turn us back. —

HOW I KEPT BULGER FROM YIELDING. — SOME INCIDENTS

OF OUR JOURNEY ALONG THE MARBLE HIGHWAY, AND HOW

WE CAME TO THE GLORIOUS GATEWAY OF SOLID SILVER.

Me, the sorrowing Sebastian, loaded with as heavy a lieart
as ever a mortal of my size had borne away with him, did the
wise Bulger lead along the broad and silent highway, farther
and yet farther from the city of the Mikkamenkies, until at
last the music of the fountains pattering in their crystal basins
died away in the distance and the darkness far behind me. I
felt that my wise little brother was right, and so I followed on
after, with not a sigh or a syllable to stay him.

But he halted at last, and, as I felt about me, I discovered
that I was standing beside one of the richly carved seats that
one so often meets with along the Marble Highwa3^ I was
quite as foot-weary as I was heart-heav^y and reaching out
I touched the spring which I knew would transform the seat
into a bed. and clambering upon it with my wise Bulger
nestled beside me, I soon fell into a deep and refreshing sleep.

When I aAvoke and, sitting up, looked back toward Queen
Crystallina’s capital, I could see the River of Light pouring
down its flood of white rays far away in the distance ; but only
a faint reflection came out to where we had passed the night,
and then I knew that my faithful companion had led me to the
verj’ uttermost limit of the Mikkamenky domain before he had
halted. Yes, sure enough, for, as I raised m3" eyes, there tower-
ing above the bed stood the slender crystal column which

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

marked the end of Goggle Land, and upon its face I read the
extract from a royal decree forbidding a Mikkamenky to over-
step this limit under pain of incurring the queen’s most serious
displeasure.

Before me was darkness and uncertainty ; behind me lay tlie
fair Kingdom of the Transparent Folk yet in sight, lighted up
like a long line of happy homes in which the fires were blazing
bright and warm on the hearthstones.

Did I turn back? Did I hesitate? No. I could see a pair
of speaking eyes fixed upon me, and could hear a low whine of
impatience coaxing me along.

Stooping down, I fastened a bit of silken cord taken from the
bed to Bulger’s collar and bade him lead the way.

It was a long while before the light of Queen Crystallina’s
city faded away entirely, and even when it ceased to be of any
service in making known to me the grandeur and beauty of the
vast underground passage, I could still see it glitter like a
silver star away, away behind me.

But it disappeared at last, and then I felt that I had parted
forever with the dear little princess with the speck in her
heart.

Bulger didn’t seem to have the slightest difficulty in keeping
in the centre of the Marble Highway, and never allowed the
leading string to slack up for a moment. However, it was by
no means a tramp through utter darkness, for the lizards of
which I have already spoken, aroused by the sound of my foot-
falls, snapped their tails and lighted up their tiny flash torches
in eager attempts to discover whence the noise proceeded, and
what sort of a being it was that had invaded their silent
domains. AVe had covered possibly two leagues when suddenly
a low and mysterious voice, as soft and gentle as if it had
dropped from the clear, starry heavens of my own beautiful
world, reached my ear.

“ Sebastian ! Sebastian ! ” it murmured. Before I could stop
to think, I uttered a cry of wonder, and the noise of my voice

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

seemed to awaken ten thousand of the tiny living flash lights
inhabiting the cracks and crevices of the vast arched corridor,
flooding it for a moment or so with a soft and roseate radiance.

“ Sebastian ! Sebastian ! ” again murmured the mellow and
echo-like voice, coming from the very walls of rock beside me.

Hastily drawing near to the spot whence the words seemed to
come, I laid my ear against the smooth face of the rock. Again
the same soft-sighing voice pronounced my name so clearly and
so close beside me that I reached out to grasp Crystallina’s
hand, for hers was the voice, — the same low, sweet voice that
had told me of her sorrow in the Spectral Garden ; but there
was no one there. In reaching out, however, I had passed my
left hand along the face of the wall, and it had marked the
presence of a round smooth opening in its rock}' face, an open-
ing about the size of a rain-water pipe in the upper world.

Instantly it flashed upon my mind that through some whim
of nature this opening extended for leagues back towards the
city of the Mikkamenkies through the miles of solid rock, and
opened in the very Throne Room of the Princess Crystal! ina.

Yes, I was right, for after a moment or so again the same
low, sweet voice came through the speaking-tube of nature’s
own making and fell upon my eager ear.

I waited until it had ceased, and setting my mouth in front
of the opening I murmured in strong but gentle tones, —

“ Farewell, dear Princess Crystallina. Bulger and the little
baron both bid thee a long farewell ! ” and then raising Bulger
in my arms, I bade him weep for his royal friend whom he
would never see again.

He gave a long, low, piteous cry, half-whine, half-howl, and
then I listened for Crvstallina’s voice. It was not long in
coming.

“Farewell, dear Bulger; farewell, dear Sebastian! Crystal-
lina will never forget you until her poor heart with the speck
in it runs down and the Crystal Throne knows her no more.”
Poor Bulger ! It now became my turn to tear him from this

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

spot, for Ciystallina’s voice, sounding thus unexpectedly in his
ears, had aroused all the deep affection which he had so ruth-
lessly smothered in order to bring his little master to his senses
and free him from the charm of Ciystallina’s grace and beauty.
But in vain. All my strength, all my entreaties, were powerless
to move him from the place.

Evidently Crystallina had heard me pleading with Bulger
and had imagined that now I would waver and stand irresolute.

“ Heed dear Bulger’s prayer, O beloved,” she pleaded, “ and
turn back, turn back to thy disconsolate Crystallina, whom thou
madest so happy for a brief moment ! Turn back ! Oh, turn
back ! ” Bulger now began to whine and cry most piteously.
I felt that something must be done at once, or the most direful
consequences might ensue — that Bulger, crazed by the sweet
tones of Crystallina’s voice, might break away from me and dart
away in mad race back to the city of the Mikkamenkies, back
to the fair young queen of the Crystal Throne.

It became necessary for me to resort to trick and artifice to
save my dear little brother from his own loving heart. Drawing
his head up against my body and covering his eyes with my left
arm, I quickly unloosened my neckerchief, and thrusting it into
this wonderful speaking-tube closed it effectively.

And thus I saved my faithful Bulger from himself, thus I
closed his ears to the music of Crystallina’s voice ; but it was
not until after a good hour’s waiting that he could bring himself
to believe that his beloved friend would speak no more.

After several hours more of journeying along the Marble
Highway a speck of light caught my eye, far on ahead, and I
redoubled my pace to reach it quickly. I was soon rewarded
for my trouble by entering a wonderful chamber, circular in
form, with a domed roof. In the centre of this fair temple of
the underground world sprang a glorious fountain with a mighty
rush of waters which brought with them such a phosphorescence
that this vast round chamber was lighted up with a pale yellow
light in which the countless crystals of the roof and sides
sparkled magnificently.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

Here we passed the night, or what I called the night, refresh-
ing ourselves with food which I had brought from the Kingdom
of the Mikkamenkies, and drinking and bathing in the wonder-
ful fountain which leaped into the air with a rush and a whir,
and filled it with a strange and fitful radiance. Upon awaking
both Bulger and I felt greatly refreshed both in body and mind,
and we made haste to seek out the lofty portal opening upon
the Marble Highway, and were soon trudging along it again.
Hour after hour we kept on our feet, for something told me that
we could not be far away from the confines of some other
domain of this World within a World; and this inward prompt-
ing of mine proved to be correct, for Bulger suddenly gave a
joyful bark and began to caper about as much as to say, —

“ O little mastei', if thou only hadst my keen scent, thou
wouldst know that we are drawing near to human habitations of
some kind ! ”

Sure enough, in a few moments a faint light came creeping in
beneath the mighty arches of the broad corridor, and every
instant it gathered in strength until now I could see clearly
about me, and then all of a sudden I caught sight of the source
of this shy and unsteady light. There in front of me towered
two gigantic candelabra of carved and chased and polished sil-
ver, both crowned with a hundred lights, one on each side of
the Marble Highway — not the dull, soft flames of oil or wax,
but the white tongues of fire produced by ignited gas escaping
from the chemist’s retort.

It was marvellous, it was magnificent, and I stood looking
up at these great clusters of tongues of flames, spellbound by
the glorious illumination thus set in silent majesty at this gate-
way to some city of the under World.

Bulger’s warning growl brought me to myself, but I must end
this chapter here, dear friends, and halt to collect my thoughts
before I proceed to tell you what I saw after passing this glo-
rious gateway illumined by these two gigantic candelabra of
solid silver.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XV

THE GUARDS AT THE SILVER GATEWAY. — WHAT THEY WERE
LIKE. — OUR RECEPTION BY THEM. — I MAKE A WONDERFUL
DISCOVERY. — THE WORLD’S FIRST TELEPHONE. — BULGER
AND I SUCCEED IN MAKING FRIENDS WITH THESE STRANGERS.
— A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SOODOPSIES, THAT IS, MAKE
BELIEVE EYES, OR THE FORMIFOLK, THAT IS, ANT PEOPLE. —
HOW A BLIND MAN MAY READ YOUR WRITING.

O GREAT Don Fnm, Master of all Masters, what do I not owe
thee for having made known unto me the existence of this
wonderful World within a World! Would that I had been a
worker in metal ! I would not have passed the glorious portal
at which I had halted without having set in deep intaglio upon
its silver columns the full name of the most glorious scholar
whom the world has ever known. Bulger had warned me that
this gateway was guarded, and therefore I entered it cautiously,
taking care to peer into the dark corners lest I might be a tar-
get for some invisible enemy to hurl a weapon at.

No sooner had I passed the gateway than three curious little
beings of about my own height threw themselves swiftly and
silently across the pathway. They wore short jackets, knee-
breeches, and leggings reacliing to their ankles, but no hats or
shoes, and their clothes were profusely decorated with beautiful
silver buttons.

Their hands and feet and heads seemed much too large for
their little bodies and pipe-stemmy legs, and gave them an un-
canny and brownie look, which was greatly increased by the
staring and glassy expression of their large, round eyes. When
I first caught sight of them they had hold of hands, but now
they stood each with his pair stretched out toward Bulger and

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me, waving them strangely in the air and agitating their long
fingers as if they were endeavoring to set a spell upon us.

I imagined that I could feel a sensation of drowsiness creep-
ing over me and made haste to call out: —

“Nay, good people, do not strive to set a spell upon me. I
am the illustrious explorer from the upper world, — Sebastian
von Troomp, — and come to you with most peaceful intent.”

But they paid no heed to my words, merely advancing a few
inches and with outstretched hands continued to beat and claw
the air, pausing only to signal to each other by touching each
other’s hands or different parts of each other’s bodies. I was
deeply perplexed by their actions, and took a step or two for-
ward when instantly they fell back the same distance.

“ All men are brothers,” I exclaimed in a loud tone, “ and
carry the same shaped hearts in their breasts. Why do you
fear me? You are thrice my number and in your own home.
I pray you stand fast and speak to me ! ”

As I was pronouncing these words, they kept jerking their
heads back as if the sound of my voice were smiting them in
the face. It was very strange. Suddenly one of them drew
from his pocket a ball of silken cord, and, deftly unrolling it,
tossed one end toward me. It flew directly towards me, for its
end was weighed with a thin disk of polished silver, as was the
end retained in the hand of the thrower. His next move was
to open his jacket and apparently press his disk against his
bare body right over his heart. I made haste to do the same
with mine, holding it firmly in place. This done, he retreated
a step or two until the silken cord had been drawn quite taut.
Then he paused and stood for several instants without moving
a muscle, after which he passed the disk to one of his compan-
ions, who, having pressed it against liis heart in turn, passed it
to the third of the group.

With the quickness of thought the truth now burst upon me :
The three brownie-like creatures in front of me were not only
blind, but they were deaf and dumb. The one sense upon which

A MABFELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

they relied, and which in them was of most marvellous keenness,
was the sense of feeling. The strange motions of their hands
and fingers, so much like the beating and waving of an insect's
feelers, were simply to intercept and measure the vibrations of
the air set in motion by the movements of my body. Their
large round eyes, too, had but the sense of feeling, but so won-
drously acute was it that it was almost like the power of sight,
enabling them by the vibration of the air upon the balls to tell
exactly how near a moving object is to them. Their purpose in
ihrowing the silken cord and silver disk to me was by measur-
ing the beating of my heart and comparing it with their own to
determine whether I was liuman like them.

Judge of my astonishment, dear friends, upon seeing one of
their number point to the silver disk and, by means of sign-lan-
guage, give me to understand that they wanted to feel the heart
of the living creature in my company.

Stooping down, 1 hastened to gratify their curiosity by apply-
ing it over my dear Bulger’s lieart.

At once there Avas an expression of most comical amazement
depicted on their faces as they passed the disk from one to the
other and pressed it against different parts of their bodies — now
against their breasts, noAv against their cheeks, and even against
their closed eyelids. Of course I kneAV that their amazement
proceeded from the rapid beating of Bulger’s heart, and I
enjoyed their childlike surprise very much. All expression of
fear now vanished from their faces, and I was delighted with
the look of SAveet temper and good humor that played about
their features, uoav Avreatlied in smiles.

Slowly and on tip-toe they dreAV near to Bulger and me and
for several minutes amused themselA'es mightily by running
their long, flexible fingers hither and thither over our bodies.

It did not take them long to discoA^er that I Avas to all intents
and purpose a creature of their own kind, but not so with
Bulgrer. Their round faces became seamed and lined Avith

wonder as they made themselves ac(iuainted Avith his, to them.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

strange build, and ever and anon as they felt him over would
they pause and in lightning-like motions of their fingers on
each other’s hands and arms and faces exchange thoughts as to
the wonderful being which had entered the portal of their city.

No doubt you are dying of impatience, dear friends, to be told
something more definite concerning these strange people among
whom I had fallen. Well, know, then, that their existence had
been darkly hinted at in the manuscript of the Great Master,
Don Fum. I say darkly hinted at, for you must bear in mind
that Don Fum never visited this World within a World; that his
wonderful wisdom enabled him to reason it all out without see-
ing it, just as the great naturalists of our day, upon finding a
single tooth belonging to some gigantic creature which lived
thousands of years ago, are able to draw complete pictures of
him.

Well, these curious beings whose city Bulger and I had
entered are called by two different names in Don Fum’s won-
derful book. In some places he speaks of them as the Soodop-
sies, or Make-believe Eyes, and in others as the Formifolk or
Ant People. Either name was most appropriate, their large,
round, clear eyes being really make-believe ones, for, as I have
told you, they had absolutely no sense of sight ; while on the
other hand, the fact that they were deaf, dumb, and blind, and
lived in underground homes, made them well entitled to the
name of Ant People. In a few moments the three Soodopsies
had succeeded in teaching me the main principles of their pres-
sure-language, so that I was, to their great delight, enabled to
answer a number of their questions.

But think not, dear friends, that these very wise and active
little folk, skilled in so many arts, have no other language than
one consisting of pressures of different degree, made by their
finger-tips upon each other’s bodies. They had a most beautiful
language, so rich that they were able to express the most diffi-
cult thoughts, to give utterance to the most varied emotions ;
in short, a language quite the equal of ours in all respects save

THE FORMIFOLK TRY THE BEAT OF THE BARON’S HEART BY TELEPHONE.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

one — it contained absolutely no word that could give them the
faintest notion what color was. This is not to be wondered at,
for they themselves neither had nor could have even the faint-
est conception of what I meant by color, so that when I at-
tempted to make them understand that our stars were bright
points in the sky, they asked me if they would prick my finger
if I should press upon one of them. But you doubtless are
anxious to know how the Formifolk can possibly make use of
any other language than that of pressures. Well, I will tell
you. Every Soodopsy carried at his girdle a little blank-book,
if I may so term it, the covers being of thin silver plates vari-
ously carved and chased as the owner’s taste may prompt. The
leaves of this book also consist of thin sheets of silver not much
thicker than our tin-foil ; also fastened to his girdle by a silken
cord hangs a silver pen or, rather, a stylus. Now, when a Soo-
dopsy wishes to say something to one of his people, something
too difficult to express by pressures of the finger-tips, he simply
turns over a leaf of the silver against the inside of either cover,
both of which are slightly padded, and taking up his stylus
proceeds to write out what he wishes to say ; and this done he
deftly tears the leaf out and hands it to his companion, who
taking it and turning it over, runs the wonderfully sensitive
tips of his fingers over the raised writing and reads it with the
greatest ease ; only of course he reads from right to left instead
of from left to light, as it was written. So, hereafter, when I
repeat my conversations with the Formifolk, you will under-
stand how they were conducted.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XVI

IDEAS OF THE FORMIFOLK CONCERNING OUR UPPER WORLD. —
THE DANCING SPECTRE. — THEIR EFFORTS TO LAY HOLD OF
HIM. — MY SOLEMN PROMISE THAT HE SHOULD BEHAVE HIM-
SELF. — WE SET OUT FOR THE CITY OF THE MAKE-BELIEVE
EYES. — MY AJVIAZEMENT AT THE MAGNIFICENCE OF THE
APPROACHES TO IT. — WE REACH THE GREAT BRIDGE OF
SILVER, AND I GET MY FIRST GLANCE OF THE CITY OF CAN-
DELABRA. — BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE WONDERS SPREAD OUT
BEFORE MY EYES. — EXCITEMENT OCCASIONED BY OUR
ARRIVAL. — OUR SILVER BED-CHAMBER.

Although thousands and thousands of years had gone by
siiuie the Formifolk had, by constant exposure to the flicker
and glare of the burning gas which their ancestors had dis-
covered and made use of to illumine their underground world,
gradually lost their sense of sight, and then in consequence of
the deep and awful silence that forever reigned about them had
also lost their sense of hearing and naturally thereafter their
power of speech, yet, marvellous to relate, they still kept within
tlieir minds dim and shadowy traditions of the upper world, and
the “ mighty lamp,” as they called the sun, which burned for
twelve hours and then went out, leaving the world in darkness
until the spirits of the air could trim it again. And, strange to
sa}', many of the unreal things of the upper world had been by
the workings of their minds transformed into realities, while the
realities had become the merest cobwebs of the brain. For
instance, the shadows cast by our bodies in the sunlight and
forever following at our heels they had come to think were
actual creatures, our doubles, so to speak, and that on account
of these “ dancing spectres,” as they called them, which dogged

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our footsteps for our life long, sitting like marjoys at our feasts,
it was utterly impossible for the people of the upper world to be
entirely happy as they were, and it occurred to them at once
that I must have such a double following at my heels, so several
times they suddenly joined hands, and, forming a circle about
me, gradually closed up with intent to lay hold of the dancing
spectre. This they did, too, after I had assured them that what
they had in mind was the mere shadow cast by a person walking
in the light. But as they had absolutely no idea of the nature
of light, I only had my trouble for my pains.

Nor did they give over making every now and then the most
frantic and laughable efforts to catch the little dancing gentle-
man who, as they were bound to think, was quietly trudging
along at my heels, but who, so they informed me, was far
quicker in his motions than any escaping water or falling object.
Finally, they held one of their silent but very excited powwows,
during which the thousand lightning-like pressures and tappings
which they made upon each other’s bodies gave the spectator
the idea that they were three deaf and dumb schoolboys engaged
in a scrimmage over a bag of marbles, and then they informed
me that they had resolved to permit Bulger and me to enter
their city provided I would give them the word of a nobleman
that I would restrain my nimble-footed double from doing them
any harm.

I made them a most solemn promise that he should behave
himself. Whereupon they greeted both Bulger and me as
brothers, stroking our hair, patting our heads, and kissing me on
the cheeks, and, what was more, they told us their names, wliich
were Long Thumbs, Square Nose, and Shaggy Brows.

All this time I had been every now and then casting anxious
glances on ahead of me, for I was dying of impatience to enter
the marvellous city of the Ant People.

I say marvellous, dear friends, for though many had been the
wonderful things I had seen in my lifetime in the far-away
corners of the upper world, yet here was a sight which, as it

100 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

gradually unfolded itself before my eyes, shackled my very heart
and caused me to gasp for breath. It was with no little sur-
prise at the very outset that I discovered that the walls and
floor of the beautiful passage through which the Soodopsies
were leading Bulger and me were of pure silver, the former being
composed of polished panels ornamented with finely executed
chasings and carvings, and the latter, as had in fact all the floors
and streets and passages of the city having upon their polished
surfaces slightly raised characters which I will explain later.
But as one passage opened into another, and then four or more
all centred in a vast circular chamber which we traversed with
our three silent guides only to enter chambers and corridors of
greater size and beauty, all brilliantly lighted by rows of the
same glorious candelabra upholding clusters of tongues of flame
— I could compare the scene to nothing save a series of magnifi-
cent ball-rooms and banquet-halls, out of which the happy
guests had been suddenly driven by the deep and awful rumble
of an earthquake shock, the lights having been left burning.

Now the scene began to change. Long Thumbs, who was
leading the way, and in whose large palm my little hand lay
completely lost, suddenly turned to the right and led me up an
arched way. I saw that we were crossing a bridge over a
stream as black and sluggish as Lethe itself.

But such a bridge ! Never had my eye rested upon so light
and airy a span, springing from bank to bank ; not the plain
and solid work of the stone-mason, but the fair and cunning re-
sult of the metal worker’s skill, like the labor of love, dehcate,
yet strong, and almost too beautiful for use.

Two rows of silver lamps of exquisite workmanship crowned
its gracefully arching sides, and when we stood upon its highest
bend, Long Thumbs halted and wrote upon his tablet : “Now,
little baron, we are about to enter the dwelling-place of our
people. Thy head is large, and there is, no doubt, much of
wisdom stored away in thy brain. Make such use of it as not
to disturb the perfect happiness of our nation, for no doubt

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101

many of our people will be suspicious of thee, and for the first
time in thousands of years a Soodopsy will lay him down to
sleep, and in his dreams feel the touch of the dancing spectre
of the upper world.” I promised Long Thumbs that he should
have no reason to be dissatisfied with me, and then making an
excuse that I was a-weary, I feasted my eyes for several moments
upon the glorious scene spread out before me.

It was the city of the Formifolk in all its splendor — a splen-
dor, alas, unseen by, unknown to, the very people dwelling in
it, for to them its silver walls and arches, its endless rows of
glorious candelabra uplifting their countless clusters of never-
dying jets of flame, its exquisitely carved and chiselled portals
and gateways, its graceful chairs and settees and beds and
couches and tables and lamps and basins and ewers and thou-
sands of articles of furniture all in purest silver, hammered or
wrought by the cunning hands of their ancestors while they
still were possessed of the power of sight, could only be known
to these, their descendants, by the sole sense of feeling.

From the lofty ceilings of corridors and archways, from the
jutting ornaments of the house-fronts, from cornice and coping,
from the four sides of columns, and from the corners of cupolas
and minarets, here and there and everywhere hung silver lamps
of more than Oriental beauty of form and finish, all with their
never-dying tongues of flame sending forth a soft though
unsteady light to fall upon sightless eyes !

But yet these countless flames, by the aid of which I was
enabled to gaze upon the splendor of this city of silver palaces,
were life if not light to the Soodopsies, for they warmed these
vast subterranean depths and filled them with a deliciously soft
and strangely balmy air.

And yet to think that Bulger and I were the only two living
creatures to be able to look upon this scene of almost celestial
beauty and radiance !

It made me sad, and plunged me into such a fit of deep
abstraction that it required a second gentle tug of Long
Thumbs’ hand to bring me to myself.

102 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

As we crossed the bridge and entered the city proper, I was
delighted to note that the streets and open squares were orna-
mented with hundred of statues all in solid silver, and that
they represented specimens of a race of great beauty of person ;
and then it occurred to me how fortunate it was that the Soo-
dopsies could not gaze upon these images of their ancestors
and thus become living witnesses of their own woful falling-
away from the former physical grace of their race.

Now, like human ants that they were, the Formifolk began to
swarm forth from their dwellings on every side of the city, and
my keen ear caught the low shuffling sound of their bare feet
over the silver streets as they closed in about us, their arms
flashing in the light and their faces lined with strange emotions
as they learned of the arrival among them of two creatures from
the upper world. They were all clad, men and women alike, in
silk garments of a chestnut brown, and I at once concluded that
they drew this material from the same sources as the Mikkamen-
kies, for, dear friends, you must not get an idea that the Formi-
folk were not well deserving of the name which Don Fum had
bestowed upon them. They were genuine human ants and, ex-
cept when sleeping, always at work.

It was true that since their blindness had come upon them
they had not been able to add a single column or archway to the
Silver City, but in all the ordinary concerns of life they were
quite as industrious as ever, chasing, carving, chiselling, planting,
weaving, knitting, and doing a thousand and one things that you
and I with our two good eyes would find it hard to accomplish.

I had made known to Long Thumbs the fact that Bulger and
I were both very tired and weary from our long tramp, and that
we craved to have some refreshment set before us, and then to be
permitted to go to rest at once, promising that after we had had
several hours’ good sleep we would take the greatest pleasure in
being presented to the worthy inhabitants of the Silver City.

It was astonishing with what rapidity this request of mine
spread from man to man. Long Thumbs made it known to two at

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103

the same time, and these two to four, and these four to eight, and
these eight to sixteen, and so on. You see it wouldn’t take long
at that rate to tell a million.

Like magic the Formifolk disappeared from the streets, and
in a sort of orderly confusion faded from my sight. Bulger and
I were right glad to be conducted to a silver bed-chamber, where
the traveller’s every want seemed to be anticipated. The only
thing that bothered us was, we had not been accustomed to keep
the light burning upon going to bed, and this made us both a
little wakeful at first ; but we were too tired to let it keep us
from dropping off after a few moments, for the mattress was
soft and springy enough to satisfy any one, and I’m sure that
no one could have complained that the house wasn’t quiet
enough.

104 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XVII

IN WHICH YOU READ, DEAR FRIENDS, SOMETHING ABOUT A
LIVE ALARM CLOCK AND A SOODOPSY BATHER AND RUBBER.
— OUR FIRST BREAKFAST IN THE CITY OF SILVER. — A NEW
WAY TO CATCH FISH WITHOUT HURTING THEIR FEELINGS. —
HOW THE STREETS AND HOUSES WERE NUMBERED, AND
WHERE THE SIGNBOARDS WERE. — A VERY ORIGINAL LI-
BRARY IN WHICH BOOKS NEVER GET DOG-EARED. — HOW
VELVET SOLES ENJOYED HER FAVORITE POETS. — I AM
PRESENTED TO THE LEARNED BARREL BROW, WHO PRO-
CEEDS TO GIVE ME HIS VIEWS OF THE UPPER WORLD. —
THEY ENTERTAINED ME AJVIAZINGLY AND MAY INTEREST
YOU.

I can’t tell you, dear friends, exactly how long Bulger and I
slept, but it must have been a good while, for when I was
awakened I felt thoroughly refreshed. I say awakened, for I
was awakened by a gentle tapping on the back of my hand — six
taps.

At first I thought I was dreaming, but, upon rubbing my eyes,
I saw standing by the side of my bed one of the Soodopsies
who, feeling me stir, took up his tablet and wrote as follows : —
“ My name is Tap Hard. I am a clock. There is a score of
us. We keep the time for our people by counting the swing of
the pendulum in the Time House. It swings about as fast as
we breathe. There are one hundred breaths to a minute and
one hundred minutes to an hour. Our day is divided into six
hours’ worktime and six hours’ sleeptime. It is now the rising
hour. If thou wilt be pleased to rise, one of our people from
the Health House will rub all the tired out of thy limbs.

I touched Tap Hard’s heart to thank him, and made haste to
scramble out of bed. Now, for the first time, I looked about the

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105

silver chamber in which I had slept. On silver shelves lay silver
combs and silver shears and silver knives ; on a silver stand stood
a silver ewer within a silver basin ; on silver pegs hung silken
towels, while spread upon the silver floor lay soft, silken rugs,
and above and around on ceiling and walls the tongues of flame
were a thousand times repeated in the panels of burnished
silver.

I had made trial of all sorts of Oriental rubber and bath at-
tendants in my day, but the silent little Soodopsy who laved
and rubbed and tapped and stroked me exceeded them all in
dexterity, added to which was a new charm, for I was not obliged
to listen to long and senseless tales of adventure and intrigue,
but was left quite alone to my own thoughts. Bulger was also
treated to a sponging and a rubbing — a luxury which he had
not enjoyed since we had left Castle Trump.

]\Iy toilet was no sooner completed than Long Thumbs made
his appearance to inquire after my health and to superintend
the serving of my breakfast, which consisted of a piece of most
delicate boiled fish flanked with oysters of delicious flavor, and
trimmed with slices of those monstrous mushrooms which I had
eaten among the Mikkamenkies, the whole served in a beautiful
silver dish on a silver tray with silver eating utensils.

Remembering the strange way in which the fish were caught
and killed in the Land of the Mikkamenkies, I was curious to know
how the Soodopsies managed it, for I knew enough of them to
know that the sensation of anything struggling for its life in
their hands would suffice to throw them into fits of great suffer-
ing, to fill their gentle hearts with nameless terror.

“ At the end of one of the many corridors leading out of our
city,” explained Long Thumbs, “ there is a rocky chamber which
was called by our ancestors Uphaslok, or the Death Hole, be-
cause any being which breathes its air for a few moments is sure
to die. So they closed it up forever, leaving only a small pipe
projecting through the door ; but, strange to say, those who
breathe this air suffer no pain whatever, but presently drop off

106 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

into a pleasant dream, and, unless they be rescued, would, of
course, never wake again. Now, as our laws forbid us to cause
any pain to the most insignificant creature, it occurred to our
ancestors that by means of a long pipe they could turn this
poisoned air into the river whenever they wanted a supply of
fish for food. This they did, and, strange to say, the moment the
fish felt the gas bubbling into the river, they at once swam up
to the mouth of the pipe, and struggled with each other for
a chance to catch the deadly bubbles as they left its mouth, so
pleasant a sensation do they cause as they gradually plunge,
the creature breathing them into his last sleep. And in this
way it is we are enabled to feed upon the fish in our river, with-
out breaking the law of the land.”

I began to understand that I had fallen in with a very original
and interesting folk, but Bulger was not altogether pleased with
them, for several reasons, as I soon observed. In the first
place he couldn’t accustom' himself to the cold and glassy look
of their eyes, and in the next he was a bit jealous of their won-
derfully keen scent — a sense which with them was so strong
that they invariably gave signs of being conscious of Bulger’s
approach even before I could see him, and always turned their
faces in the direction in which he was coming.

You will remember, dear friends, that I mentioned the fact
that the Formifolk went barefoot, and that their feet as well as
their hands seemed altogether too large for their bodies, and I
wish to add, that while Bulger and I were being led through
the long corridors and winding passages on our way into the
City of Silver, the three Soodopsies frequently half halted and
seemed to be feeling on the floor for something with the balls of
their feet. I thought no more about it, until Bulger and I
started out for our first stroll through their wonderful town,
when, to my great delight, I made the discovery that the
numbers of the houses, the names of the occupants, the names of
the streets, as well as all signboards, so to speak, and all
guide-posts were in slightly raised letters on the floors and

BARREL BROW ENGAGED IN READING FOUR BOOKS AT ONCE.

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109

pavements, and then the truth dawned upon me, that Long
Thumbs and his companions were simply halting now and then
to read the names of the streets with the balls of their feet, in
order to know if they were taking the right road.

Ay, more than this, dear friends, the first time Bulger and I
passed through one of the open squares of the City of Silver,
you may imagine my satisfaction upon the discovery that the
silver pavements were literally covered with the writings of
the Soodopsy authors in raised characters.

Now, in Don Fum’s wonderful book he had, in his masterly
manner, given me the key to the language of the Formifolk, so
that with very slight effort I was able to make the additional
discovery that some of the streets were given up to the writers
of histoiy, and some to story writers, while others were filled
with the learned works of philosophers, and others still contained
many thousands oi lines from the best poets which the nation
had produced.

And I had very little difficulty in discovering which were the
favorite poems of the Soodopsies, for, as you may readily suppose,
these were polished like a silver mirror by the shuffling of the
many thankful feet over their sweet and soulful lines.

I noticed that the writings of the philosophers in this, as in
my own world, found few readers, for the raised letters were, in
many cases, tarnished and black from lack of soles trampling
over them in search of wisdom.

Somewhat later, when I had become acquainted with Velvet
Soles, the daughter of Long Thumbs, a gracious little being
as full of inward light as she was blind to the outer world,
and she invited me to “ come for a read,” I had a hard task
of it in persuading her that I could not remove what she called
my ridiculous “ foot boxes ” and join her in enjoying some
of her favorite poems. It was to me a delicious pastime to
accompany this happy little maiden when she “ went for a
read,” to walk beside her and watch the ever-varying expression
of her beautiful face as the soles of her tiny feet pressed the

110 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

words of love and hope and joy, and her heart expanded, and she
clasped her hands in attitudes of blissful enjoyment, seemingly
just as deep and fervent as if the blessed sunlight rested on her
brow, and her eyes were drinking in the glory of a summer
sunset. O dwellers in the upper world with the light
streaming into the windows of your souls, with your ears open
to the music of pipe and flute and violin, and to the sweeter
music of the voice of love, how much more have ye than she,
and yet how rarely are ye as happy, how rarely do ye know
that sweet contentment which, as in this case, came from within ?

“ Go to the ant ; consider her ways, and be wise, which, having
no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer
and gathereth her food in the harvest.”

In a short time the Formifolk seemed to become quite accus-
tomed to having Bulger and me among them, and they appar-
ently “ touched hands ” with me in quite as friendly a fashion
as if I had been one of them.

One day Long Thumbs conducted me to the house of the
most aged and learned of the Soodopsies, Barrel Brow by name.

He received me very cordially, although I interrupted him at
his studies, for, as I entered his apartment, he was in the act of
reading four different books at the same time : two were lying
on the floor, and he was perusing their raised characters with
the soles of his feet, and two others were set up on a frame in
front of him and he was deciphering them with the tips of his
fingers. *

But when informed who I was he stopped work at once and
taking up his tablets, asked me a number of questions con-
cerning the upper world, of which he had, however, no very
exalted opinion.

“You people,” said he, “if I understand correctly the ancient
writings of those of our nation who still preserved certain tradi-
tions of the upper world, are endowed with several senses which
are utterly lacking in us, I am happy to say, for if I understand
correctly ye have in the first place a sense which ye call hearing,

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111

a most troublesome sense, for by means of it ye are being con-
stantly disturbed and annoyed by vibrations of the air coming
from afar. No^y, they can be of no possible good to you. Ye
might as well have a sense that would inform you what was
going on in the moon. Therefore, my conclusion is, that the
sense of hearing only serves to distract and weaken the brain.

“ Another sense that ye are possessed of,” continued Barrel
Brow, “ ye call the sense of sight — a power even more useless
and distracting than hearing, for the reason that it enables you
to know things which it is utterly bootless to know, such as
what your next door neighboi’S may be doing, how the moun-
tains are acting on the other side of your rivei-s, how your sky,
as ye call it, might feel if you could touch it with your fingers,
which ye can’t do, however ; how soon rain will fall, which is a
useless piece of knowledge if ye have roofs to cover you, as I
suppose ye have ; but the most ridiculous use which ye make
of this sense of sight is the manufacture of what ye call pic-
tures, by means of which ye seem to take the greatest pleasure
in deceiving this very sense of which ye are so very proud. If
I understand correctly these pictures, if felt of, are quite as
smooth as that panel there, but so cunningly do ye draw the
lines and lay in the colors, whatever they may be, that ye really
succeed in deceiving yourselves and stand for hours in front of
one of these bits of trickery wlien ye might, if ye chose, feast
your eyes, as ye call it, upon the very thing which the trickster
has imitated. Now, as life is much shorter in the upper world
than in ours, it seems very strange to me that ye should wish to
waste it in this foolish manner. Then, there is another thing,
little baron,” continued the learned Barrel Brow, “ which I wish
to mention. It is this : The people of the upper world pride
themselves very much upon what they term the power of speech,
which, if I understand correctly, is a faculty they have of express-
ing their thoughts to each other by violently expelling the air
from their lungs, and that this air, rushing into the ventilators
of the brain, which ye call ears, produces a sensation of sound

112

A MABVELLOf/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

as ye term it, and in this way one of thy people standing at one
end of the town might make his wishes known to another stand-
ing at the other end. Now, thou wilt pardon my thinking so,
little baron, but this seems to me to be not a whit above the
brute creature, which, opening its vast jaws, thus sets the air in
motion in calling its young or breathing defiance at an enemy.
And if I understand correctly, little baron, so proud are thy
people of this power of speech that they insist upon making use
of it at all times and upon all occasions, and, strange to say,
tliese ‘ talkers ’ can always find plenty of people to open their
ears to these vibrations of the air, although the effect is so
wearying to the brain that in the end they invariably fall
asleep. But if I understand correctly, the women are even
fonder of displaying their skill in thus puffing out the air from
their lungs than the men are ; but, that not satisfied with this
superior power of puffing out the words, they actually have re-
course to a potent herb which they steep in boiling water and
drink as hot as possible on account of its effect in loosening the
tongue and allowing the talker to do more puffing than she
could otherwise.

“ But all this, little baron,” continued the learned Barrel
Brow, “might be overlooked and regarded in the light of mere
amusement were it not for the fact, if I understand correctly,
that brain ventilators being of different sizes in different persons,
the consequence is that these puffs of air which ye use to make
known your thoughts to each other produce different effects
upon different persons, and the result is, that the people of the
upper world spend half their time repeating the puff's which
they have already sent out, and that even then thou canst rarely
find two people who will agree exactly as to the number,
kind, strength, and meaning of the puffs blown into each other’s
brain ventilators, and that therefore has it become necessary to
provide what ye call judges to settle these disputes which often
last for lifetimes, the two parties spending their entire fortunes
hiring witnesses to come before these judges and imitate the

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113

sound which the air made when it was set in motion years ago
by the angry puffs of the two parties. I sincerely trust, little
baron,” wrote the learned Barrel Brow on his tablet of silver,
“ that when thou returnest to thy people thou wilt make known
to them what I have written for thee to-day, for it is never too
late to correct a fault, and the longer that fault has lasted the
greater the credit for correcting it.”

I promised the learned Soodopsy to do as he requested, and
then we touched each other on the back of the head, which is
the way they say good-by in the land of the Formifolk, a touch
on the forehead meaning, “ How d’ye do ? ”

114 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XVIII

EARLY HISTORY OF THE SOODOPSIES AS RELATED BY BARREL
BROW. — HOW THEY WERE DRIVEN TO TAKE REFUGE IN
THE UNDER WORLD, AND HOW THEY CAAIE UPON THE
MARBLE HIGHWAY. — THEIR DISCOVERY OF NATURAL GAS
WHICH YIELDS THEM LIGHT AND WARMTH, AND OF NA-
TURE’S MAGNIFICENT TREASURE HOUSE. — HOW THEY RE-
PLACED THEIR TATTERED GARMENTS AND BEGAN TO BUILD
THE CITY OF SILVER. — THE STRANGE MISFORTUNES THAT
CAME UPON THEM, AND HOW THEY ROSE SUPERIOR TO
THEM, TERRIBLE AS THEY WERE.

And, no doubt, dear friends, you would be glad to hear some-
thing about the early history of the Soodopsies : who they were,
where they came from, and how they happened to find their
way down into the World within a World.

At least, this was the way I felt after I had been presented to
the learned Barrel Brow, and so the next time I called upon
him I waited patiently for him to finish reading the four books
in front of him, and then I said, —

“ Be pleased, dear Master, to tell me something concerning
the early history of thy people, and to explain to me how they
came to make their way down into this underground world.”

“ Ages and ages ago,” wrote the learned Barrel Brow, “ my
people lived upon the shores of a beautiful land with a vast
ocean to the north of it, and in those days they had the same
senses as the other people of the upper world. It was a very
fair land, indeed, so fair that, in the words of the ancient
chronicles, the sun looked in vain for a fairer. Its rivers were
deep and broad, its plains were rich and fertile, and its moun-
tains stored full of silver and gold and copper and tin, and so

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 115

easily mined ^yere these metals that our people became famous
as metal workers ; so deft in their workmanship that the other
nations from far and near came to us for swords and shields and
spear heads and suits of armor and table service and armlets and
bracelets and, above all, for lamps most gloriously chased and
carved to hang in their palaces and temples. And so we were
very happy, until one terrible day the great round world gave a
twist and we were turned away from the sun, so that its rays
went slantingly over our heads and gave us no warmth.

“ Ah me, I could weep now,” exclaimed the learned Barrel
Brow, “ after all these centuries, when I think of the cruel fate
that overtook my people. In a few months the whole face of
our fair land was covered with ice and snow, and our cattle died,
and many of our people, too, before they could weave thick
cloth to keep their delicate bodies from the pinching cold.
But this was not all ; the great blue ocean which had until then
dashed its warm waves and white foam up against our shores
now breathed its icy breath full upon us, driving us into our
cellars to escape its fury; and in a few brief months, to our
horror, there came drifting down upon us fields and mountains
of ice, which the tempestuous waters cast up against our shores
with deafening crash. To remain there meant death, swift and
terrible, so the command was given to abandon homes and fire-
sides and escape to the southward, and this most of them did.
But it so happened that several hundred families belonging to
the metal-working guilds, who knew the underground passages
to the mines as foresters know the pathless wood, had taken
refuge in the vast underground caverns with all the goods they
could carry. Poor deluded creatures ! they thought that this
sudden coming of the winter blast, of the blinding snow and
vast floating fields of ice, was but a freak of nature, and that in
a few months the old warmth and the old sunshine would come
back again.

“ Alas, months went by and their supply of food was almost
exhausted and the entrances to the mines were closed by

116 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

gigantic blocks of ice cemented into one great mass by the
snow Avhich the gray clouds had sifted down upon them.

“ There was now no escape that way. Their only hope was to
make their way underground to some portal to the upper world.

“So, Avith lighted torches but Avith hearts plunged in the
darkness of despair, they kept on their Avay, when one day,
or one night, they kneAV not Avhich, their leaders suddenly came
upon a broad street of marble opened by nature’s own hands.
It was skirted by a softly floAving river that SAvarmed Avith fish
in scales and shells and skin, and here our people halted to eat
and drink and rest, and Avhile one of their number Avas striking
his flint on one occasion to make a fire to cook a meal, to his
surprise and delight a tongue of flame darted up from the rocky
floor and continued to burn, giving light and Avarmth to them.

“ As they had brought their tools — their drills and chisels and
files and gravers and bloAv-pipes — Avith them in their carts and
Avagons, they made haste to fit a pipe to this opening in the
rock and set up a cluster of lights. With food and water and
Avarmth and light their hearts greAv lighter, especially as they
soon discovered that in many of the vast caverns gigantic mush-
rooms grew in the wildest profusion.

“ The wisest of them,” continued the learned Barrel Brow,
“ at once made up their minds that there must be reservoirs of
this gas farther along on this beautiful Marble HighAvay, so, day
by day, they pushed farther into this World Avithin a World,
halting every noAv and then to set up a lighthouse as they
called it.

“ After advancing several leagues the exploring party, upon
lighting a cluster of gas jets, were stricken almost speechless
Avith Avonder at finding themselves upon the very sill of a toAv-
ering portal opening into a succession of vast chambers, some
Avith flat ceiling, some arched, some domed, upon the floors and
Avails of which lay and hung inexhaustible quantities of pure
silver. Those magnificent caverns were in reality nature’s vast
storehouses of the glorious Avhite metal, and our people made

A A/AnVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 117

haste to set up clusters of gas jets here and there, so that they
might view the wondrous treasure-house.

“ Here they determined to remain, for here was food and
water in never-failing supplies, and here they would have light
and warmth, and liere they could forget their miseries by work-
ing at their calling, using the precious metal with lavish hand
to build them living-chambers, and to fashion the thousand and
one things necessary for every-day life. So great was their
delight as metal-workers to come upon this exhaustless supply
of pure silver that they could hardly sleep until they had set up
clusters of gas jets throughout these vast caverns, for, no doubt,
little baron, thou hast already guessed that this is the spot I am
telling thee of ; that right here it was where our people halted
to build the City of Silver.

“ But one thought troubled them and that was where to find
needful clothing, for the old was fast falling into shreds and
tatters, when, to their delight, they came upon a bed of mineral
wool and with this they managed to weave some cloth. Al-
though it was rather stiff and liarsh, yet it was better than none.

“ While exploring a new cavern one day, one of my wise
ancestors saw a large niglit moth alight near him, and, gently
loosening some of its eggs, he carried them home, more as a
curiosity than aught else.

“ Imagine how rejoiced he was, however, to see one of the
worms which hatched out set to work spinning a cocoon of silk
half as big as his fist. There was great feasting and merry-mak-
ing among our people upon hearing of this glad news, and it
was not very long before many a silver shuttle was rattling in
a silver loom, and the soft bodies of our people were warmly
and comfortably clad. Now, long periods of time went by,
which, cut up into your months, would have made many, many
years. Our people had everything but sunlight, and this, of
course, those who were born in the under world knew nothing
about and therefore did not miss.

“ But, as was to be expected, great changes gradually took place

118 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

in our people. To their inexpressible grief, they noticed that as
they busied themselves beautifying their new homes by erecting
arches and bridges and terraces, and lining them with glorious
candelabra and statues, all in cast and wrought or hammered
silver, their sight was gradually failing them, and that in
not a very great length of time they should be totally
blind.

“ This result, little baron,” continued the learned Barrel Brow,
“ was very natural, for the sense of sight was in reality created
for sunlight; for as thou no doubt knowest, all the fish tliat
swim in our rivers have no eyes, having no need of them. It hap-
pened just as they had expected — in a few generations more
our people discovered that their eyes could no longer see things
as thou dost, but yet they could feel them if they were not too
far away, just as I can feel thy presence now and tell where
thou sittest, and how tall thou art, and how broad thou art, and
whether thou movest to right or left, forward or backward, but
I cannot tell exactly how thou art made until I reach out and
touch thee ; then I know all ; yes, far better than thou canst
know, for our sense of feeling is keener than thy so-called
sight. One of my people can feel a grain or roughness upon
a silver mirror which to thy eyes seems smoother than glass.
Well, strange to relate, and yet not strange, our ancestors with
the going-out of their sense of sight also felt their sense of
hearing on the wane. Our ears, as thou callest them, having
nothing more to listen to, for eternal silence, as thou knowest,
reigns in this under world, became as useless to us as the tail
of the polywog would be to the full-grown.frog ; and of course
with the loss of our sense of hearing our children were soon
unable to learn to talk, and in a certain lapse of time we came
to merit full well our new name of Formifolk, or Ant People,
for we were now blind and deaf and dumb.

“It is long, very, very long, little baron,” continued the
learned Soodopsy, “ since all recollection of sunlight, of color,
of sound, died out of our minds. To-day my people don’t even

A SOODOPSV MAIDEN READING HER FAVORITE POET

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 121

know the names of these things, and thou wouldst have as
much chance of success wert thou to attempt to tell them what
light or sound is as thou wouldst have if thou shouldst try to
explain to a savage that there is nothing under the world to
hold it up, and yet it doesn’t fall. But if thou shouldst lay
several pieces of metal in a row and ask one of my people to
tell thee what they were, he would try the weight of each and
feel its grain carefully, possibly smell them or touch his
tongue to them, and then he would make answer : ‘ That is
gold ; that is silver ; that is copper ; that is lead ; that is tin ;
that is iron.’

“ But thou wouldst say, ‘ They all are differently colored ;
canst not perceive that ? ’

“ ‘ I know not what thou meanest by color,’ he would reply.
‘ But mark me : now I hide them all beneath this silken kerchief,
and still by touching them with my finger tips I can tell wdiat
metal each one is. If thou canst do it, then art thou as good a
man as I.’

“ What sayest now, little baron ? ” asked the learned Barrel
Brow, while his face' was wreathed in a smile of triumph; “dost
think thou wouldst be as good a man as this Soodopsy?”

“ Nay, indeed I do not, wise Master,” wrote I upon my silver
tablet : “ and I thank thee for all thou has told me and taught
me, and I ask leave, O Barrel Brow, to come again and converse
with thee.”

“ That thou mayest, little baron,” traced the learned Soodopsy
upon his silver tablet ; and then as I turned to leave his cham-
ber he reached quickly after me and touched me with a bent
forefinger, which meant return.

“ Thy pardon, little baron,” he wrote, “ but thou art leaving
my study without thy faithful Bulger ; am I not right?”

I was astounded, for indeed he was right, and though with-
out the sense of sight he had seen more than I with two good
eyes wide open. There lay Bulger fast asleep on a silken-
covered hassock.

122 A MAE VEIL OCrS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

Our silent conversation had so wearied him that he had
sailed off into the Land of Nod on the wings of a dream.

He hung his head and looked very shame-faced when my call
aroused him and he discovered that I had actually reached the
doorway without his knowing it.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 123

CHAPTER XTX

BEGINS WITH SOMETHING ABOUT THE LITTLE SOODOPSIES,
BUT BRANCHES OFF ON ANOTHER SUBJECT; TO WIT; — THE
SILENT SONG OF SINGING FINGERS, THE FAIR MAID OF THE
CITY OF SILVER. — BARREL BROW IS KIND ENOUGH TO
ENLIGHTEN ME ON A CERTAIN POINT, AND HE TAKES
OCCASION TO PAY BULGER A VERY HIGH COMPLIMENT,
WHICH, OF COURSE, HE DESERVED.

The longer I stayed among the Soodopsies the more did I
become convinced that they were the happiest, the lightest
hearted, the most contented human beings that I had met in all
my travels. If it were possible for the links of a long chain
suspended over a chasm to be living, thinking beings for a short
while, it seems to me they would hang together in the most
perfect accord, for each link would discover that he was no
better than his neighbor, and that the welfare of all the otlier
links depended upon him and his upon theirs. So it was with
the Formifolk, having no sense of sight they knew no such
thing as envy, and all hands were alike when reached out for a
greeting.

I was amazed at times to see how they could feel my ap-
proach when I would be ten or fifteen feet away from them,
and I often amused myself by trying to steal by one of them in
the street. But no, it was impossible ; a hand would invariably
he held out for a greeting. Little by little, they got over their
distrust of me, and made up their minds that I had told them
the truth when I said that no dancing spectre was forever fol-
lowing at my heels. One of the most interesting sights was to
see a group of Soodopsy children at play, building houses with
silver blocks, or playing a game very much like our dominoes.

124

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

I noticed that they kept no tally, such wonderful memories
had they that it was quite unnecessary.

At hrst the children were so frightened upon feeling of me
that they fled with terror pictured upon their little faces.
Their parents explained to me that I made very much the same
impression upon them as if I sliould feel of a person whose skin
was as rough as a sea urchin’s.

When at last I succeeded in coaxing several of them to my
side, I was astounded to see one little fellow who had by chance
pressed his tiny hand against my watch pocket spring away
from me terror-stricken. He had felt it tick and didn’t stop
running until he had reached his mother’s side.

His wonderful tale that the little baron carried some strange
animal around in his pocket soon caused a crowd to collect
about me, and it was some time before I could persuade even
the parents that the watch was not alive and that it was not the
little animal’s heart which they felt beating.

On one occasion, when a little Soodopsy was sitting on my
lap with its tiny arm twined affectionately around my neck, I
happened to make some remark to Bulger, when, to my amaze-
ment, the child sprang out of my arms and darted away with a
look of terror upon his little face.

What had I done to him ?

Why, it seems that by the merest chance his tiny hand had
been pressed against my throat, and that he had been terrified
by feeling the strange vibration caused by my voice. Immedi-
ately the report was spread about that the little baron carried
another little baron around in his throat, that any one could feel
him, if I would only consent. It took me a long while to con-
vince them that what they felt was not another little baron, but
merely the vibration caused by my expelling my breath in a
way peculiar to the people of the upper world. But all the
same, I was obliged to say many hundreds of useless things to
Bulger in order to give their little hands a chance to feel some-
thing so wonderful.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 125

From the little I have told you about the names of the For-
mifolk, dear friends, you have no doubt understood that their
names took their rise from some physical quality, defect, or
peculiarity. Besides the names I have already mentioned,
I remember Sharp Chin, Long Nose, Silk Ears, Smooth Palms,
Big Knuckle, Nail Off, Hammer Fist, Soft Touch, Hole-in-
Cheek, or Hole-in-chin (Dimple), Crooked Hair (Cowlick),
and so on, and so on.

But, to my amazement, one day, when asking the name of a
young girl whose long and delicate fingers had attracted my
attention, 1 was informed that her name was Singing Fingers, or,
possibly, I might translate it Music Fingers.

I had noticed that the Soodopsies had some idea of music, for
the children often amused themselves dancing, and, while so
engaged, beat time with their finger tips on each other’s cheeks
or foreheads.

But I was completely in the dark as to what they meant by
Singing Fingers, or why the young girl should have been so
named; hence was I greatly pleased to hear the maiden’s
mother ask me whether I would like to feel one of her daugh-
ter’s songs, as she termed it. Upon my acquiescing, the
mother approached me and proceeded to roll up the sleeves of
my coat until she had laid my arms bare to the elbow, then she
took my arms and clasped them across my breast one above the
other.

Bulger watched the proceeding with somewdiat of displeas-
ure in his eyes ; he had half an idea that these silent people might
play some hurtful trick upon his little master. But my smile
soon disarmed his suspicion.

Singing Fingers now drew near, and as her sweet face with
its sightless eyes turned full upon me I could hardly keep back
the tears.

And yet, why grieve for any one who seemed to be so per-
fectly happy ? A smile played around her dainty little mouth,
disclosing her tiny silvery white teeth like so many real pearls.

126

.•1 MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY.

and her bosom rose and fell quickly, sending forth a faint breath-
ing sound. She looked so like a radiant child of some other
world that before I thought, I cried out, —

“ Speak, Oh, speak, beautiful child ! ”

In an instant she di'ew back affrighted, for the sudden vibra-
tion of the air had startled her ; but I reached out and touched
her hand to give her to understand that she need fear nothing,
and then she drew near to me again. Suddenly her beautiful
hands with their long, frail, delicate fingers were lifted into the
air, and she began to sway her body and to wave her hands in
gentle and graceful motions as if keeping time with some
music. Gradually she drew nearer to me, and ever and anon
her silken finger tips touched my hands or arms as if they were
a keyboard and she was about to begin to execute a soft and dainty
bit of music ; and I noticed that her fingers had some delightful
perfume upon them. Now fast and faster the gentle taps rain
upon me with rhythmic regularity. They soothe me, they thrill
me, they reach my heart as if they were the sweet notes of a
flute or the soft tones of a singer’s voice. The maiden is really
singing to me I It seems to me that I can understand what she
is saying, or, rather, thinking, as her dainty finger tips fairly fly
hither and thither, and I can hear her low breathing grow louder
and louder. Suddenly she leaves my hands and arms and I feel
her gentle tapping on my cheeks and brow. So gently, Oh, so
gently and soothingly her fingers touch me that at last they feel
like rose leaves dragged across my face. The sensation is so
delightful, so like the soft touch of sleep to weary eyes, that I
drop off in good earnest, and when, after a moment or so, I
opened my eyes there sat the smiling Formifolk waiting for me
to awake, and there stood the radiant-visaged Singing Fingers
in front of me, child-like, waiting to be commended.

And so you see, dear friends, that it is not so hard to be
happy after all if you only set about it in the right way. The
Formifolk seemed to have set about it in the right way, judging
by results, and they are the only things we have to judge by.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 127

Some men will fish all day and not have a bite, and some people
will try their whole lives to catch happiness and not get any
more than a nibble. They don’t use the right kind of bait.
Let ’em try a kind act, a live one.

There was something I wanted to ask of the learned Barrel
Brow, so the next call I made on him I put this question to
him : —

“ Is it possible, learned Master, that thy people have abso-
lutely no guide, no overseer, no rulers ? ”

The great scholar of the Formifolk ceased reading the four
books which lay opened before him — one under each hand and
one under each foot — as I handed him my silver tablet.

“ Little baron,” was his reply, “ if there were only a bramble
bush big enough for all you people of the upper world to jump
into and if you could only get rid of your ears too, you would
soon be rid of your rulers who oppress you, who prey upon you ;
for no one would have any desire to be a ruler if there was no
one left to look at him and if he couldn’t hear what the
flatterers said about him. Vanity is the soil that rulers spring
from, as the mushrooms spring from the rich loam of our dark
caverns. They pretend that it is the exercise of power that
they are so fond of. Believe them not. It is the gratifica-
tion of their vanity and nothing else.

“If it were only in thy power to say to every man who itched
to be a ruler, —

“‘Well and good, brother, a ruler thou shalt be; but bear
in mind, weak man, that when thou hast donned thy gaudy
uniform and mounted thy gayly caparisoned steed, when thou
ridest at the head of troop and cavalcade with ten thousand
armed men following thee on foot, as slaves their master, and
the plaudits of the foolish multitude rend the air, no eye shall
witness the splendor of thy triumph, no ear catch a sound of
the deafening cheers,’ take my word for it, little baron, no one
would want to be a ruler any more.

“ Where there are no rulers, little baron,” continued the

128 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

learned Barrel Brow, “ there can be no followers ; where there
are no followers, there will be no quarrelling. When it becomes
necessary in our nation we form the Great Circle for delibera-
tion. Each man writes out what he thinks on his tablet. Then
the opinions are read and counted and the majority rules. But
we form the Great Circle only in times of urgent need. Gen-
erally speaking, the smaller circles answer all the purposes ; in
fact, the family circle is in most cases quite sufficient.”

I touched first Barrel Brow’s heart in token of my gratitude
for the many things which he had taught me, and then the back
of his head to bid him good-night. You may imagine his and
my delight, dear friends, when the wise Bulger raised himself
upon his hind legs, and with his right paw also thanked the
learned Barrel Brow, and then bade him good-night by a light
tap on the back of his head.

“Fortunate the traveller,” wrote the learned Soodopsy, “at-
tended by so wise and watchful a companion ! True, like a
child, he goes on all fours, but by so doing he brings his heart
and his brains on the same level — the only way for a man to
wear them if he would do his fellow-creatures any good. The
trouble with thy people in the upper world, little baron, is that
they think too much. They clasp minds instead of clasping
hands ; they send messengers with gifts instead of giving them-
selves. They hire people to dance for them, to sing for them,
to be merry for them. They will not be satisfied until they
have hired people to help them be sorry, to whom they may say,
‘My friend is dead; I loved him. Weep three whole days for
him.’ ”

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

129

CHAPTER XX

THIS IS A LONG AND A SAD CHAPTER. — IT TELLS HOW
DEAR, GENTLE, POUTING-LIP WAS LOST, AND HOW THE SOO-
DOPSIES GRIEVED FOR HIM AND WHOM THEY SUSPECTED.
— BULGER GIVES A STRIKING PROOF OF HIS WONDERFUL
INTELLIGENCE WHICH ENABLES ME TO CONVINCE THE SOO-
DOPSIES THAT MY “ DANCING SPECTRE ” DID NOT CAUSE
POUTING-LIP’S DEATH. — THE TRUE TALE OF HIS TERRIBLE
FATE. — WHAT FOLLOWS MY DISCOVERY. — HOW A BEAUTI-
FUL BOAT IS BUILT FOR ME BY THE GRATEFUL SOODOPSIES,
AND HOW BULGER AND I BID ADIEU TO THE LAND OF THE
MAKE-BELIEVE EYES.

’Twas the custom in the City of Silver to “touch all around,”
as it was called, before going to rest. The “ touch all around ”
began in a certain quarter of the city and passed with wonder-
ful rapidity from man to man. Exactly how it was done I
never could understand, but the purpose of the mysterious sig-
nalling was to make an actual count of all the Formifolk. If a
single one were missing, it would be most surely discovered by
the time the “ touch all around ” had been completed. It pro-
ceeded with lightning-like rapidity throughout the city, and
then, if no return signal was made, the people knew that every-
one was in his proper place ; that no Soodopsy had lost his way
or fallen ill in some unfrequented passage.

I don’t think that I had more than dropped off to sleep when
I was aroused by Bulger’s gentle tugging at my sleeve. Rub-
bing my eyes, I sat up in bed and listened. Instantly my ear
caught that faint, shuffling sound which was always perceptible
when any number of the Formifolk were hurrying hither and
thither over the polished silver pavement.

130 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

I sprang out of bed and rushed to the door, Bulger close
at my heels. What a strange sight confronted me I I could
compare it to nothing save to the appearance of a large ant hill
when some mischievous boy suddenly drops a stone among the
crowd of petty, patient, plodding people peacefully pursuing
their work.

In an instant all is changed: lines are broken, workmen
jostle workmen, order becomes disorder, regularity is changed
to confusion. Hither and thither the affrighted creatures rush
with waving feelers, seeking for the cause of the mad outburst
of terror.

So it was with the Formifolk as I looked out upon them.
With outstretched hands and tremulously moving lingers they
rushed from side to side, jostling and bumping one another,
while a nameless dread wfis depicted upon their upturned faces.
Anon a group would halt, join hands, and begin to exchange
thoughts by lightning-like pressures, tappings, and strokes,
when others would dash against them, break them apart, and
confusion would reign greater than ever.

But gradually I noted that some sort of order seemed to be
coming out of the movements of this mad throng. Here and
there groups of three and four would form and clasp hands,
then these smaller circles would break and form into larger
ones, and I noted too that this ever-increasing circle was formed
on the outside of the panic-stricken crowd, and as it grew it
shut them in so that when a fleeing Soodopsy hurtled up against
this steady line, his terror left him at once and he took his place
in it. In a few moments the madly pushing, jostling throng
had disappeared entirely and the whole city was girt round
about by these long, steady lines.

The Great Circle had been formed.

After half an hour tlie deliberation was completed, and, to my
surprise, the Great Circle broke up into squads and companies
of foul’s and sixes and tens, and then each disappeared slowly
and steadily with lock step, passing out of the City into the

THE GIGANTIC TOKTOISt THAT DEVOCREH POCTIXG LIP

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 133

dark or only partially lighted chambers and passages that sur-
rounded it. The search for the missing Soodopsy had been
begun.

It was hours before the last squad had returned to the square
and the Great Circle had been formed again. Alas ! the news
was sad indeed. There came no tidings of the missing man.
He was lost forever; and with clasped hands and slow and heavy
step the grieving Formifolk made their way back to their
homes, where the sighing women and children were awaiting
their coming. As Bulger and I went back to bed again, it
almost seemed to me as if I could hear at times the deep and
long-drawn sighs that escaped from the gentle breasts of the
sorrowing Soodopsies. I noticed a very touching thing on the
following day. It was that every man, woman, and child in
the City of Silver grieved for the lost Soodopsy as if he were
actually brother to each of them. Love was not as with us, in
the upper world, a thing bestowed upon those in whom we see our
own faces repeated and in whose voices we heard our own ring
out again, sweet and clear as in our childhood ; in other words,
a love almost of our very selves. Oh, no ! while it was true that
a mother’s touch was most tender to her own child, yet no little
hand stretched out to her went without its caress. She was
mother to them all ; to her they were all beautiful, and as their
little frocks were all woven in the same loom, there never could
come into her mind a temptation to feel whether a rich neigh-
bor’s child was playing with hers, and that therefore it ought to
receive a more loving caress. In that portion of the city where
the children had their playgrounds the silver pavement was
in some places marked otf with raised lines and letters, some-
thing after the manner of our hop scotch, for the purpose of a
game which was very popular with the little Soodopsies. Its
name is hard to translate, ])ut it meant something like “ Little
Bogyman,” and many an hour had Bulger and I stood there
watching these silent little gnomes at play, fascinated by the
wonderful skill which they would display in feigning the draw-

134 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

ing near of the Little Bogyman, their hiding from him, his
stealthy approach, the increasing danger, the attack, the escape,
the new dangers, wild flight, and mad pui-suit. Fancy, there-
fore, my astonishment one morning to note that Bulger was
coaxing me thither, although the place was quite deserted, the
children being all at their lessons.

But, as it was a rule of mine always to humor Bulger’s
whims, I went patiently along.

In a moment, as we came to the spot where the pavement
was marked off and inscribed as I have explained, he halted
and with an anxious whine began to play the game of “ The
Little Bogyman,” turning every now and then to see what
effect his actions had upon me.

He made no mistakes. As he entered each compartment, he
rested his paw upon the raised letters as he had so often seen
the children do with their little bare feet, and then mimicked
with wonderful fidelity their actions, beginning with the first
scent of danger and ending with mad terror at the close pursuit
of the bogyman.

I was more than surprised ; I was bewildered by this piece of
mimicry on Bulger’s part. To my mind it boded some terrible
accident to him, for I have a superstitious notion that great
danger to an animal’s life gives him for the moment an almost
human intelligence. It is nature caring for her own.

But all of a sudden the real truth in this case burst upon
me : it was not my dear little brother giving me to understand
that some peril was threatening him, but that some danger was
hanging over my head, the more real in that it was unseen and
unsuspected by me.

I called him to me and rewarded him with a caress. He was
overjoyed to note that I had apparently understood him. I
now made haste to seek out Barrel Brow. He was surprised to
feel my salutation. In a moment or so I had told him all.
Nor was he slow in detecting my excitement. He, no doubt,
felt that in the changed character of my handwriting.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 135

“ Calm thyself, little baron,” he wrote. “ The wise Bulger
has told thee the truth. Thy life is in danger. I had resolved
to send for thee this very day to warn thee of it: to bid thee quit
the land of the Formifolk in all haste, for the notion has spread
among our people that it was the dancing spectre at thy heels
which caused the death of the gentle Pouting Lip, who dis-
appeared so mysteriously the other day. I therefore counsel
thee that thou make ready at once and quit our city to-morrow
before the clocks rouse the people from their sleep.”

I thanked Barrel Brow, and promised that I would heed his
advice, although I confessed to him that I would fain have
bided a few weeks longer, there were so many things in and
about the wonderful City of Silver that I had not seen. But
I owed it to the dear hearts of my own world to take the best
care of my life, insignificant though it might appear to me.

Then, again, I felt that it would be madness to attempt to
reason with the Soodopsies. To them the dancing spectre at
my heels was a real being of flesh and blood, although they had
not been able to seize him, and it was really natural for them to
suspect that we had made away with Pouting Lip.

Calling out to Bulger to follow me, I left Barrel Brow’s home,
resolved to make one more round of the wonderful city, and
then pack up some food and clothing and be all ready for a
start before the clocks began their tapping.

I should explain, dear friends, that, as happens in all cities, the
people of this one imagined at times that they hadn’t quite elbow
room enough, and hence they surveyed other chambers, and set
up new candelabra within them, in order to chase the cold and
dampness away, and make them fit for human habitations.

In the last one which they had in this way annexed to their
fair city, fitting it with a silver doorway and tiling the floor
with polished plates of the same beautiful metal, they had dis-
covered a hard mound apparently of rock in one corner, and had
resolved that they would come some day with their drills and
picks and begin the task of removing this mound.

136 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

A strange inclination came upon me to visit this new cham-
ber in order to inspect the work of these eyeless workmen, and
see how far they had proceeded wUh their task of transforming
a cold and rocky vault into a bright, warm, healthy habitation.

Imagine my surprise to hear Bulger utter a low growl as we
reached the entrance, and I put out my hand to swing the door
open, for the Soodopsies were not at work there that day, and the
place was as silent as a tomb.

Glancing through the grating, a sight met my gaze which
caused my flesh to creep and my hair to stiffen. What think
ye was it? Why, the mound in the corner was rocking and
swaying, and from underneath one end issued a loud and angry
hissing. I’m no coward, if I do say it myself, but this was just
a little too much for ordinary or even extraordinary flesh to bear
without flinching. I staggered back with a suppressed cry of
horror, and was upon the point of breaking into a mad flight,
when the thought flashed through my mind that the door was
securely fastened, and that there would be no danger in my
taking another look at the terrible monster thus caged in this
chamber.

A great snake-like head was now lifted from beneath one
edge of the mound, on the end of a long, swaying neck. Its
great round eyes, big as an ox’s, stared with a dull, cold, glassy
look from wall to wall, and then, with an awful outburst of
hissing, the whole mound was suddenly raised upon four great
legs, thick as posts, and ending in terrible claws, and borne
rocking and swaying into the centre of the chamber.

What was this terrible monster, and where had it come from ?

Why, I saw through it all now at a glance. It was a gigantic
tortoise, eight feet long by five wide, at least, and once an in-
habitant of the upper world. Thousands and thousands of years
ago, by the coming of the awful fields of ice, it had been forced
to fly from certain death by crawling down into these under-
ground caverns. Here, chilled and numbed by the dampness
and cold, it had fallen asleep, and would have continued to

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

137

sleep on for other ages to come, had not the industrious Formi-
folk lighted the clusters of burning jets of gas in the monster’s
bedroom. Gradually the warmth had penetrated the roof of shell
made thicker by earth and layem of broken rock, which the
tooth of time had dropped upon it, and reached his great heart,
and set it beating again slowly, very slowly, but faster and
faster, until he really felt that he had awakened from his long
sleep.

By a terrible misfortune. Pouting Lip, the gentle Soodopsy,
had happened to be left behind when his brother laborers quit
work, and the new silver doors of the chamber had been closed
upon him.

Oh, it was terrible to think of, but true it must have been —
the poor little Soodopsy, shut in by his own eyeless folk in this
chamber, which he was helping to beautify by his patient skill,
had served to satisfy the hunger of this awful monster, after his
long ages of fasting.

But why, you ask, dear friends, was all this not discovered
when the Great Circle had been formed, and the search was
made for him ? Simply because the monster, after devouring
the lost Soodopsy, retreated to his nest and drew the dirt and
crumbled rock up around him with his gigantic flippei's, and
went to sleep again, as all gorged reptiles do, so that when the
searchers entered the new chamber all was as they had left it,
the mound of rock, as they had supposed it to be, in the corner
undisturbed.

With Bulger at my heels I now turned and ran with such
mad haste to Barrel Brow’s, that the whole city was thrown into
the wildest disorder, for, of course, they had felt me fly past
them.

With all the quickness I could command, 1 wrote an account
of what I had witnessed, and when Barrel Brow communicated
it to the assembled Soodopsies, a thousand hands flew into the
air, in token of mingled fright and wonder, and a wild rush was
made for Bulger and me, and we were well-nigh smothered with
kisses and caresses.

138 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

The moment the excitement had quieted down a little, a
Great Circle was immediately formed, and I was honored with
a place in it, and when my tablet was passed about, a thousand
hands made signs of assent.

My plan was a simple one : it was to make a pipe connection
between Uphaslok and the new chamber, and to turn the deadly
vapor into the sleeping apartment of the gigantic monster. In
this manner his despatch would be a happy one, merely a be-
ginning of another one of his long naps, so far as he would
know any thing about it.

This was done at once, care first being taken to make the
doors of the new chamber perfectly air tight. I was the first to
enter the cavern after the execution of the monster, and found,
to my delight, that my estimate of his length and width was
correct almost to an inch.

I always had a wonderful eye for dimension and distances.

Seeing Bulger raising himself upon his hind legs, and make
an effort to dislodge something from the wall, I drew near to
assist him.

Alas ! it was dear, gentle. Pouting Lip’s tablet. He had been
writing upon it, and as the terrible monster advaneed upon him,
he had reached up and hung it upon a silver pin on the wall.
When the Soodopsies read what their poor brother had written,
there they all sat down and wrung their hands in silent but
awful grief : it ran as follows : —

“ O my people ! why have ye abandoned me ? The air
trembles ; th^ whole place is filled with suffocating odor. Must
I die ? Alas, I fear it ! and yet I would so love to feel my dear
ones’ touches once more ! The ground trembles ; a stifling breath
is puffed into my face ; I am wearied, almost fainting, by trying
to escape it. I can write no more. Don’t grieve too long over
me. It was my fault. I stayed behind, when I should have
followed. Oh, horrible, horrible ! Farewell ! I’m going now.
A loving touch to all — farewell ! ”

After waiting a few days for the grief of the Formifolk to

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 139

lighten a little, I asked them to send a number of their most
skilful workmen to assist me in removing the magnificent shell
from the dead monster whose body was fed to the fishes.

They not only did this, but they also offered to transform the
shell into a beautiful boat for me, so 'that when I resolved to
bid them adieu, I might sail away from the City of Silver and
not be obliged to trudge along the Marble Highway. The
work went on apace. At first the polishers began their task,
and in a few days the mighty carapace glowed like a lady’s
comb. Then the dainty and cunning craftsmen in silver began
their part of the work, and ere many days the shell was fitted
with a silver prow curiously wrought, like a swan’s neck and
head, while quaintly carved trimmings ran here and there, and
a dainty pair of silver sculls with a silver rudder, beautifully
chased, from which ran two little silken ropes, were added to
the outfit. I never had seen anything half so rich and rare,
and I was as proud of it as a young king of his throne before
he finds it is so much like my ship of shell.

At last the day came when I was to bid the gentle Soodop-
sies a long farewell.

They lined the shore as Bulger and I proceeded to take our
place in the bark of shell which sat upon the water like a thing
of life.

It was with a great show of dignity that Bulger took his
position in the stern with the tiller-ropes in his mouth, ready to
pull on either side as I might direct ; and setting the silver oars
in place, I threw my weight upon them, and away we glided,
swiftly and noiselessly, over the surface of the dark and sluggish
stream.

In a few moments nothing but a faint glimmer was left to
remind us of the wonderful City of Silver, where the silent
Formifolk live and love and labor without ever a thought that
human beings could be any happier than they. Dear, happy
folk, they have solved a mighty problem which we of the upper
world are still struggling over.

140 A AfA/iVELLO(/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XXI

HOW WE WERE LIGHTED ON OUR WAY DOWN THE DARK AND
SILENT RIVER. — SUDDEN AND FIERCE ONSLAUGHT UPON OUR
BEAUTIFUL BOAT OF SHELL. — A FIGHT FOR LIFE AGAINST
TERRIBLE ODDS, AND HOW BULGER STOOD BY ME THROUGH

IT ALL. COLD AIR AND LUMPS OF ICE. — OUR ENTRY INTO

THE CAVERN WHENCE THEY CAME. — THE BOAT OF SHELL
COMES TO THE END OF ITS VOYAGE. — SUNLIGHT IN THE WORLD
WITHIN A WORLD, AND ALL ABOUT THE WONDERFUL WIN-
DOW THROUGH WHICH IT POURED, AND THE MYSTERIOUS
LAND IT LIGHTED.

I DARE say, dear friends, that you are puzzling your brains
to think out how it was possible for me to row away from the
wonderful city of the Formifolk without running our boat con-
tinually ashore. Ah, you forget that the keen-eyed Bulger was
at the helm, and that it was not the first time that he had piloted
me through darkness impenetrable to my eyes ; but more
than this : I soon discovered that the plashing of my silver
oars kept my little friends, the fire lizards, in a constant state
of alarm, and although I couldn’t hear the crackling of their
tails, yet the tiny flashes of light served to outline the shore
admirably. So I pulled away with a will, and down this dark
and silent river, for there was a current, although hardly per-
ceptible, Bulger and I were borne along in the beautiful bark of
tortoise shell with its prow of carved and burnished silver.

During my sojourn in the Land of the Soodopsies I had one
day, while calling upon the learned Barrel Brow, noticed a beauti-
fully carved silver hand-lamp of the Pompeian pattern among
his curiosities. I asked him if he knew what it was. He re-
plied that he did, adding that it had doubtless been brought
from the upper world by his people, and he begged me to accept

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 141

it as a keepsake. I tlid so, and upon leaving the City of Silver,
I filled it with fish-oil and fitted a silken wick to it. It was
well that I had done so, for after a while the fire lizards dis-
appeared entirely, and Bulger and 1 would have been left in
total darkness, had I not drawn forth my beautiful silver lamp,
lighted it, and suspended it from the beak of the silver swan
which curved its graceful neck above the bow of our boat.

After lying on my oars long enough to set some food before
Bulger and partake of some myself, I again started on my
voyage down the silent river, no longer shrouded in impene-
trable gloom.

1 had not taken over half a dozen strokes, when suddenly one
of my oars was almost twisted out of my hand by a vicious tug,
from some inhabitant of these dark and sluggish waters. I re-
solved to quicken my stroke in order to escape another such a
wrench, for the silver oars fashioned by the Soodopsies for me
were of very delicate make, intended only for very gentle
usage. Suddenly another vicious snap was made at my other
oar; and this time the animal succeeded in retaining its hold, for
I dared not attempt to wrench the oar out of its grip, for fear
of breaking it. It was a large crustacean of the crab family, and
its milk-white shell gave it a ghost-like look as it struggled
about in the black waters, fiercely intent to keep its hold upon
the oar. The next instant a similar creature had fastened firmly
upon my other oar, and there I sat utterly helpless. But worse
than this, the dark waters were now fairly alive with these
white armored guards of this underworld stream, each apparently
bent upon setting an immediate end to my progress through
their domain. They now began a series of furious efforts to lay
hold of the sides of my boat with their Imge claws, but happily
its polished surface made this impossible for them to accomplish.

Up to this moment Bulger had not stirred a muscle or uttered
a sound, but now a sharp growl from him told me that some-
thing serious had happened at his end of the boat. It was
serious indeed, for several of tlie largest of the fierce crustaceans

142 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

had laid hold of the rudder and were wrenching it from side to
side as if to tear it off. Every attempt of course caused a tug
at the tiller-ropes held between Bulger’s teeth; but, bracing
himself firmly, he resisted their furious efforts as well as he
could, and succeeded in saving the rudder for the time being.

All of a sudden our frail bark of shell crashed into some sort
of obstruction, and came to a dead standstill. Peering into the
darkness, to my horror I saw that the wily enemy had spanned the
river with chains made up of living links by each laying hold of
his neighbor’s claw, the chain thus formed being then rendered
almost as strong as steel by the interweaving of their double
rows of small hooked legs.

Our advance was not only blocked, but death, an awful death,
seemed to be staring us in the face ; for what possible hope of
escape could there be if Bulger and I should leap into the water,
now alive with these fast swimming creatures, whirling their
huge claws about in search for some way to get at us. From
the brave manner in which Bulger was holding the madly
swinging helm, I saw that he was determined not to surrender.
But alas, bravery is but a sorry thing for two to fight a thousand
with ! And yet I had not lost my head — don’t think that.
True, I was hard pressed ; the very dust of the balance, if thicker
on their side, might make my scale kick the beam.

I had hauled both oars into the boat by reaching over and
beating off the claws fastened upon them, and had up to this
moment driven back every one of the fierce creatures which had
succeeded in throwing one of his claws over the edge of the
boat ; but now, to my horror, I felt that our little craft was being
slowly but surely drawn stern first toward the river bank. In
order to accomplish this, the crustaceans had thrown out a line
composed of their bodies gripped together, and had made it fast
to the rudder. Not an instant was to be lost I

Once upon the river bank, the fierce creatures would swarm
around us by the tens of thousands, drag us down, pinch us to
death, and tear us piecemeal !

SAILING AWAY FROM THE LAND OF THE SOODOP9IES.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

145

An idea flashed upon me — it was this : it is folly to attempt
to resist these countless swarms of crustaceans by the use of one
pair of weak hands, even though they be aided by Bulger’s keen
and willing teeth. We should, after a brief struggle, go down as
the brave man in the sewer went down, when the famished rats
leaped upon him from every side at once, or as the stray buffalo
goes down when the pack of ravenous wolves closes up its circle
about him. If I am to save my life, it must be by striking a blow
that will reach every one of these small but fierce enemies at
the same instant, and thus paralyze them, or, at least, bewilder
them, until I can succeed in making my escape !

Quickly drawing my brace of pistols, I held their muzzles
close to the water, and discharged them at the same instant.
The effect was terrific. Like a crash of a terrible thunderbolt,
the report burst forth and echoed through these vast and silent
chambers, until it seemed as if the great vaulted roof of rock had
by some awful convulsion of nature been cast roaring and rat-
tling down upon the face of these black and sluggish waters !
When the smoke had cleared away, a strange but welcome sight
met my gaze. Tens of thousands of the huge crabs floated life-
less upon the surface of the river, with their shells split by the
concussion the full length of their bodies.

It proved to have been a masterly stroke on my part, and, dear
friends, you will believe me when I tell you that I drew a deep
breath as I set my silver oars against the thole-pins, and, having
worked my boat clear of the swarms of stunned crustaceans,
rowed away for dear life !

Dear life ! Ah, yes, dear life, for whose life is not dear to
him, even though it be dark and gloomy at times ? Is there not
always something, or some one, to live for ? Is there not always
a glimmer of hope that the morrow’s sun will go up brighter
than it did this morning ? Well, anyway, I repeat that I rowed
away for dear life, while Bulger held the tiller-ropes and kept
our frail bark of polished shell in the middle of the stream.

Whether the air was actually colder, or whether it was merely

146 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

the natural chill that so often strikes the human heart after it
has been beating and throbbing with alternate hope and fear, I
couldn’t say at the time ; but I knew this much, that I suddenly
found myself suffering from the cold.

For the first time since my descent into the World within a
World, the air nipped my finger-tips; that soft, balmy, June-like
atmosphere was gone, and I made haste to put on my fur-trimmed
top-coat, which I had not made much use of lately.

At that moment one of my oars struck against some hard
substance floating in the waters. I put out my hand to feel of
it. To my great surprise it proved to be a lump of ice, and
very soon another and another went floating by us.

We were most surely entering a region where it was cold
enough to make ice. I was not sorry for this ; for, to tell the
truth, Bulger and I were both beginning to feel the effects of our
long sojourn in the rocky chambers of this under world, whose
atmosphere, though soft and warm, yet lacked the elasticity of
the open air.

Ice caverns would be a complete change, and the cold air
would, no doubt, send our blood tingling through our veins just
as if we were out a-sleighing in the upper world on a winter’s
night, when the stars twinkle over our heads and the snow
crystals creak beneath our runners.

Soon now huge icicles began to dot the roof of rock that
spanned the river, and shafts and columns of ice dimly visible
along the shore seemed to be standing there like silent sentries,
watching our boat as it threaded its way through the ever-narrow-
ing channel. And now, too, a faint glow of light reached us
from I knew not where, so that by straining my eyes I could see
that the river had taken a sweep, and entered a vast cavern with
roof and walls of ice fretted and carved into fantastic depths and
niches and shelves and cornices, with here and there shapes so
fanciful that it seemed to me I had entered some vast hall of
statuary, where hero and warrior, nymph and maiden, shepherd
and bird-catcher, filled these shelves and niches in glorious array.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 147

Farther advance by water was impossible, for the blocks of ice,
knitted together like a floe, closed the river completely. I
therefore determined to make a landing — draw my boat upon
the shore, and continue my journey on foot.

The mysterious light which up to this moment had shed its
pale glimmer like an arctic night upon the roofs and walls
of ice of these silent chambers now began to strengthen so that
Bulger and I had no difiiculty in picking our way along the
shore. In fact, we crossed and recrossed the river itself when
the whim seized us, for it now went winding on ahead of us, like
a broad ribbon of ice through caverns and corridoi’S.

Suddenly I came to a halt and stood as motionless as the
fantastic forms of ice surrounding me. What could it mean ?
Were my eyes weakened by my long sojourn in the World with-
in a World, playing me cruel tricks? Surely there can be no
mistake ! I whispered to myself. That light yonder which
pours its glorious effulgence upon those spires and pinnacles,
those towers and turrets of ice, is the sunshine of the upper
world ! Can it be that my marvellous underground journey is
ended, that I stand upon the threshold of the upper world once
more ?

Bulger, too, recognizes this flood of sunshine, and breaking out
into a fit of joyous barking, dashes on ahead, to be the first one to
feel its gentle warmth after our long journey through the dark
and silent passages of the World within a World.

But I dare not trust my eyes, and fearing lest he should fall
into some ambush or meet with some dread accident, I called
him back to me.

Together we hurry along as rapidly as possible. Now I note
that we are drawing near to the end of the vast corridor through
which we have been making our way for some time, and that
we stand upon the portal of a mighty subterranean region
lighted with real sunlight. It stretches away as far as the eye
can reach, and so high is the roof that spans this vast under
world that I cannot see whether it be of ice or not. All that I

148 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

can see is that through one of its sloping sides there streams a
mighty torrent of sunlight, which pours its splendor with un-
stinting hand upon the wide highways, the broad terraces, the
sheer parapets, and the sloping banks which diversify this ice
world. Can it be that one side of this mighty mountain which
nature has here hollowed out and set like a peaked roof over this
vast subterranean region, is a gigantic window of ice itself through
which the sunlight of the outer world streams in this grand way
like a silent cataract of light, like a deluge of sunshine? No,
this could not be ; for now upon a second look I saw that this
flood of light thus streaming through the side of the mountain
came through it like a mighty pencil of rays, and striking the
opposite walls with its brilliancy a hundred-fold increased, re-
bounded in a thousand directions, flooding the whole region
with its effulgence and dying away in faint and pearl-like glimmer
in the vast approach where I had first noted it.

And therefore I understood that nature must have set a
gigantic lens, twice a thousand feet or more in diameter, in the
sloping side of this hollow mountain — a perfect lens of purest
rock crystal, which, gathering in its mysterious bosom the sunlight
of the outer world, threw it — intensely radiant and dazzling
white — into the gloomy depths of this World within a World, so
that when the sun went up out there, it went up in here as well,
but became cold as it was beautiful, bringing no warmth, no other
cheer save light, to this subterranean region which for thousands
of centuries had lain locked in the crystal embrace of frozen
lakes and brooks and rivers and torrents and waterfalls, once
bubbling and flowing and rushing headlong through fair lands
of the upper world, but suddenly checked in their course by
some bursting forth of mighty pent-up forces, and turned
downward into these icy depths condemned to everlasting rest
and silence, their crystals locked in a sleep that never would
know an awaking, mocked in their dreams by this mysterious
sunlight that came with the smile and the fair, winsome look of

A MAJiVELLOCrS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 149

the real, and yet was so powerless to set them free as once it did
when the springtime came in the upper world. All these
thoughts and many others besides flitted through my mind as
I stood looking up at that mighty lens in its setting of mightier
rock.

And so deeply impressed was I by the sight of such a great
flood of sunlight pouring through this gigantic hull’s eye which
nature had set in the rocky side of the hollow mountain peak
and illumining this under world, that the longer I gazed upon
the wonderful spectacle the more firmly inthralled my senses
became by it.

The deep silence, the deliciously pure air, the ever-varying
tints of the light as the mighty ice columns acting the part of
prisms, literally filled those vast chambers with the rainbow’s
glorious glow, imparted unto the spell resting upon me such
unearthly power that it might have held me there until my
linrbs hardened into icy crystals and my eyes looked out with
a frozen stare, had not the ever-watchful Bulger given a gentle
tug at the skirt of my coat and aroused me from my inthralling
meditation.

160 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XXII

THE PALACE OF ICE IN THE GOLDEN SUNLIGHT, AND WHAT I
IMAGINED IT MIGHT CONTAIN. — HOW WE WERE HALTED BY
A COUPLE OF QUAINTLY CLAD SENTINELS. — THE KOLTY-
KWERPS. — HIS FRIGID MAJESTY KING GELIDUS. — MORE
ABOUT THE ICE PALACE, TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION OF
THE THONE-ROOM. — OUR RECEPTION BY THE KING AND HIS
DAUGHTER SCHNEEBOULE. — BRIEF MENTION OF BULLIBRAIN,
OR LORD HOT HEAD.

Scarcely had I advanced a hundred yards beyond the portal
where I had lialted when happening to turn my eyes to the
other side, a sight met them which sent a thrill of wonder and
delight through my form. There upon the highest terrace stood
a palace of ice, its slender minarets, its high-lifted towers, its
rounded turrets, its spacious platform, and its broad flights of
steps all glittering in the sunlight as if gem-studded and jewel-
set.

It was a spectacle to stir the most indifferent heart, let alone
one so full of ardor and buoyancy as mine. But ah, dear
friends, even admitting that I can succeed in awakening in your
minds even a faint conception of the beauty of this ice palace, as
the sunlight fell full upon it at that moment, how caiiT ever
hope to give you an idea of the unearthly beauty of this palace
of ice and its glorious surroundings when the moon went up in
the outer world at a later hour and its pale, mysterious light was
poured through the mighty lens in the mountain side, and fell
with celestial shimmer upon these walls of ice ?

But the one thought that oppressed me now was : Can this
beautiful abode be without a tenant, without a living soul within
its wonderful halls and chambers? Or, may not its dwellers.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 151

overtaken by the pitiless cold, sit with wide-opened eyes and
icy glare, stark as marble in chairs of ice, white frosted hair
pressed against icy cushions, and hands stiffened around crystal
cups filled with frozen wine of topaz hue, while the harper’s
fingers cling cramped to the wires stiff as the wires themselves,
and the last tones of the singer’s voice lie in feathery crystals of
frozen breath white at his feet ?

Come what may, I resolved to lift the crystal knocker that
might hang on the outer door of this palace of ice and awaken the
castellan, if his slumber were not that of death. In a few
moments I had crossed the level space between me and the first
terrace, which it would be necessary for me to scale in order to
reach the second and then the third upon which stood the palace
of ice.

Imagine my more than surprise upon finding myself now at
the foot of a magnificent flight of steps, hewn into the ice with a
master hand, and leading to the terrace above.

Springing lightly up this flight with Bulger close at my heels,
I suddenly set eyes upon two of the quaintest-looking human
beings that I ever remembered seeing in all my travels. They
looked for all the world like two big animated snowballs, being
clad from top to toe in garments made of snow-white fleece, their
skull-caps likewise of white fur, leaving only their faces visible.
In his right hand each of them carried a very prettily shaped
flint axe, mounted upon a helve of polished bone.

Striding up to me and swinging their axes over my head in
altogether too close proximity to my poll to be particularly
pleasant, one of them cries out, —

“ Halt, sir ! Unless his frigid Majesty Gelidus, King of the
Koltykwerps, awaits thy coming, his guards will, at a signal
from us, roll a few thousand tons of ice down upon thee if thou
darest proceed another step. Therefore, stand fast and tell us
who thou art and whether thou art expected.”

“ Gentlemen,” said I, “ kindly lower those axes of yours and I
will convince you that his frigid Majesty hath nothing to dread

152 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

in me, for I am none other than the very small but very noble and
very famous Sebastian von Troomp, commonly known as ‘ Little
Baron Trump.’

“ Never heard of thee in all my life,” said both of the guards
as with one voice.

“ But I have of you, gentlemen,” I continued, — for now I rec-
ollected what the learned Don Fum had said about the frozen
land of the Koltykwerps, or Cold Bodies, — “ and as proof of my
peaceful intent, like a true knight I now offer you my hand,
and beg that you will conduct me into the presence of his frigid
Majesty.”

No sooner had the guard standing next me drawn off his glove
and grasped my hand, than he let it loose again with a cry of
fright.

“ Zounds ! Man, art thou on fire ? Why, thy hand burned
me like the flame of a lamp ! ”

“ Why, no, my friend,” said I quietly ; “ that’s my ordinary
temperature.”

“ And thy companion ? ”

“ Hath even a warmer heart than I have,” was my reply.

“ Well, our word for it, little baron,” exclaimed one of the
guards with a chuckle, “ there will be no place for thee except
in the meat quarry. Possibly after thou hast been cooled off for
a week or so, his frigid Majesty will be able to have thee
about ! ”

This was not a very cheerful prospect, for I had no particular
desire to be laid away in the royal ice-box for a week or so.
Anyway, the only thing to be done was to insist upon being con-
ducted at once into the presence of the King of the Koltykwerps,
and abide by his decision.

One of the guards having saluted me by presenting his battle-
axe in real military style, faced about and began to ascend the
grand staircase with intent to announce my arrival to his frigid
Majesty, while the other informed me that he would conduct me
as far as the perron of the palace.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 153

I was wonderstruck with the beauty of the three staircases
leading up to the ice palace. Massive balustrades with curiously
carved balusters springing from towering pedestals, crowned
with beautiful lamps, all, all, I say, all and everything, to the
crystal-clear sides of the lamps themselves, was fashioned
from blocks of ice. It proved to be a good climb to the
top of the third terrace, and I was not put out when the
guard solemnly lowered his battle-axe of flint to bring me to
a standstill.

The sun in the upper world was, no doubt, nearing the horizon,
for a deep and beautiful twilight suddenly sank upon the icy
dominions of King Gelidus, and, to my surprise and delight,
through the great slabs of crystal-clear ice which served for
windows to the palace, streamed a soft radiance as if a thousand
wax tapers were burning in the chambers and galleries in-doors.
It was a sight to gladden the eyes of any mortal ; but if I had
been spellbound by the beauty of its exterior, how shall I tell
you, dear friends, of the curious splendor of the interior of Geli-
dus’ palace of ice, as it burst upon me when I had crossed its
threshold ?

Hallway led into hallway, chamber opened into chamber,
through portals gracefully arched, and winding staircases
climbed to upper rooms, while hanging from lofty ceilings or
resting on graceful pedestals, were a thousand alabaster lamps,
shedding light and perfume upon this glorious home of his
frigid Majesty Gelidus, King of the Koltykwerps. Long rows
of retainers, all in snow-Avhite fur, lined the wide hallway, as
the guards conducted Bulger and me into the palace and bowed
in silence as we passed.

To my more than wonder, I saw that the inner rooms were
most sumptuously furnished, chairs and divans being scattered
here and there, all covered with superb skins of white fur, while
the floor, too, was carpeted with them, and as the soft radiance of
the alabaster lamps fell upon these magnificent pelts and set ten
thousand jewels in the walls and ceilings of ice, I was ready to

154 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

admit that I had never seen anything half so beautiful. And yet
I was still outside the throne-room of his frigid Majesty !

At length we came to one end of a broad hallway which
seemed shut off from the rest of the palace by a wall thickly
incrusted with strings of great diamonds, each as big as a goose-
egg, extending from the ceiling to the floor, and turning back
the shimmer of the lamps with such a flood of crystalline
radiance that my eyes involuntarily closed before it.

ddiink of my amazement when the two guards, laying hold of
this wall of jewels, as I deemed it, drew it to the right and left
till there was room for me to pass. What I had taken for a wall
of jewels was but a curtain made up of round bits of ice strung
upon strings and hanging like a shower of diamonds there before
me, as they glittered in the light of the lamps each side of them.

I now stood in the throne-room of his frigid Majesty, the
King of the Koltykwerps. Now I realized that what I had seen
elsewhere in his palace of ice was in reality but a sample of its
magnificence, for here the splendor of King Gelidus’ castle
burst upon me in its fullest strength. Imagine a great round
chamber lighted with the soft flames of perfumed oil, streaming
from a hundred alabaster lamps, the walls lined with broad
divans covered with snow-white pelts, the floors thickly carpeted
with the same glorious rugs, while on one side, glittering in the
shimmer of the hundred massive lamps, stands the icy throne of
the King of the Koltykwerps, decked with snow-white skins, and
he upon it, with Schneeboule, his fair daughter, sitting at his
feet, and all around and about him, group-wise, a hundred Kolty-
kwerps, the king, the princess, and the courtiers all clad in skins
whiter than the driven snow, and you, dear friends, will have
some faint idea of the splendor of the scene which burst upon
me as the two guards drew aside the strands of ice jewels at the
end of the hallway in the palace of ice !

Like all his subjects. King Gelidus looked out through the
round window of his fur hood, just as a big good-natured boy
does through his skating-cap.

THE BATTLE FOB LIFE WITH THE W

^’IIITE CRABS.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 157

The Koltykwerps were not much taller than I, but were very
stocky built, so that when broadened out by their thick fur suits
they really took on at times the appearance of animated snow-
balls. It would be hard for the fingers of the deftest hand to
draw faces fuller of kindliness and good nature than those of
the Koltykwerps. Their small, honest gray eyes sparkled with
a boniform glint, and so broad were their smiles that they were
only about half visible through the round holes of their fur
hoods. I was delighted with them from the very start, and the
more so when I heard King Gelidus cry out in a cheery voice :
“ A right crisp and cold welcome to our icy court, little baron ;
but from what our people tell us, thou earnest a pair of hands
so hot that we beg thee to take a few days to cool off before
thou touchest palms with any of the Koltykwerps, and we also
beg thee to be careful and not to lean against any of our richly
carved panels, or to slide down any of our highly polished rail-
ings, or to handle the strands of our jewels, or sit down for
any length of time on the front steps of our palace. And we
make the same request of thy four-footed companion, who is said
to be of even a warmer disposition than thou.”

I bowed and kissed my hand to his frigid Majesty, and assured
him that I should make every effort to lower my temperature
as speedily as possible, and, in the mean time, that I should be
extremely careful not to come into contact with any of the
artistic carving of his palace of ice.

As I pronounced these words, the whole comj)any began to
clap their hands ; and as they did so, a cold shiver ran down my
back, for there was a sound, methought. very much like the
rattling of dry bones to that applause, but I took good care not
to let King Gelidus notice my fright.

His frigid Majesty now presented me to his daughter Schnee-
boule, a pretty little maid of about sixteen crystal winters, with
cheeks round as apples, and as deepl}' dimpled as the furrows of
a cross-bun. Her eyes twinkled as she looked upon Bulger and
me, and turning to her frigid papa, she asked for leave to touch

158 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

the tip end of my tliumb, which being done, she gave a squeaky
little scream and began to blow on her tiny finger as if I had
blistered it.

King Gelidus also presented me to several of his court
favorites, all men of the coldest blood in the nation. Their
names were Jellikin, Phrostyphiz, Icikul, and Glacierbhoy.
They were all dreadfully slow thinkers when you questioned
them very closely upon any subject;

It didn’t take me very long to discover this. In fact, they
requested me to be less warm in my manner, and not to ask
them, any posers, as they invariably found that deej) thought
caused a rise in their temperature.

This was, to be honest about it, very annoying to me ; for you
know, dear friends, what a loadstone my mind is, never asleep,
always in a quiver like a mariner’s compass, pointing this way
and that, in search of the polar star of wisdom.

Upon making known my trouble to his frigid Majesty, King
Gelidus, he most gracefully ordered one of his trusty attendants
to conduct me to the triple walled ice-cell of a certain Kolty-
kwerp by the name of Bullibrain, that is, literally, “ Boiling
Brain,” a man who had been born with a hot head, and conse-
quently with a very active brain. For fifty years King Gelidus
had been doing his very best to refrigerate this subject of his,
but without success. As I was just bursting with impatience to
ask a whole string of questions concerning the Koltykwerps,you
may imagine how delighted I was to make the acquaintance of
Bullibrain, or Lord Hot Head as he was called among the
Koltykwerps; but, dear friends, you must excuse me if I make
this the end of a chapter and stop here for a brief rest.

A MAJiVELLOl/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 159

CHAPTER XXIII

LC>RI) HOT HEAD AGAIN. AND THIS TIME A FULLER ACCOUNT
OF HIM. — HIS WONDUOUS TALES CONCERNING THE KOLTY-
KWERPS : WHERE THEY CAME FROM, WHQ THEY WERE, AND
HOW THEY MANAGED TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD OF ETER-
NAL FROST. — THE MANY QUESTIONS I PUT TO HIM, AND HIS
ANSWERS IN FULL.

Lold Bullibrain was never allowed to set foot inside the
palace of ice. King Gelidus, backed by the opinion of Ids
favorites, still indulged the belief that he would be able in the
end to refrigerate him. True, he had been many years at the
task, so that it had now become a sort of hobby of his, and
almost daily did his frigid Majesty pay a visit to his hot-headed
subject and test his temperature by pressing a small ball of ice
against his temples. To King Gelidus’ mind, a man of so high
a temperature was a continual menace to the peace and quiet
of his kingdom. What if Lord Hot Head in a dream should
wander forth some night and fall asleep with his back against
one of the walls of the ice palace ? Might he not melt away
enough of it to throw the whole glorious fabric into a slump
and slush of debris? It was terrible to think of, when he did
think of it, and he thought of it quite often.

But Bullibrain hiul no terrors forme, nor for Bulger either ; in
fact, Bulger was delighted to be stroked by a warm hand, and he
and Bullibrain and I soon became the very best of friends ; but
his frigid Majesty was so alarmed when he heard of this friend-
ship, that he was seized with quite a spasm of warmth, for,
thought he, the united heat of three hot heads might work some
terrible harm to tlie welfare of his people. So he issued the
coldest kind of a decree carved on a tablet of ice, that Bullibrain

160 A MAHVELLOl/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

and I should on no one day pass more than a lialf-hour to-
gether ; that we should never touch palm to palm, sleep in the
same room, eat from the same dish, or sit on the same divan.

These regulations were annoying, but I followed them to the
letter ; and when King Gelidus saw how careful I was to yield
the strictest obedience to his decree, he conceived a genuine
affection for me and sent several magnificent pelts to the ice-
house, which had been assigned to Bulger and me, for, of course,
it would not have been safe for us to lodge in the palace itself,
but his frigid Majesty held out the flattering prospect that the
very moment Bulger and I should become properly refrigerated,
apaitments in the palace would be assigned to us, and, in fact,
that I should be permitted to eat at the royal table.

Who are the Koltykwerps ? Where did these strange folk
come from? How did the}^ ever find their way down into this
World of Eternal Frost? And, above all, where do they get
their food and clothing from ? These were a few of the questions
which I was so impatient to have answered that my tempera-
ture was raised a whole degree, and I was obliged to sleep with
only one single pelt between me and my divan of crystal ice.

For a man bred and born in so cold a countr}^ as the land of
the Koltykwerps, Bullibrain had an extremely quick and active
mind. On account of his rapid heart-beat, and the consequent
high temperature of his body, he was not able to do his writ-
ing on slabs of ice as other learned Koltykwerps had done, for it
would not have been a pleasant thing for him to see a poem
which he had just finished literally melt away in his hands,
without so much as leaving an ink-stain behind, so he had been
obliged, with King Gelidus’ permission, to do his writing on
thin tablets of alabaster.

Jiefore he began to talk to me about the progenitors of the
Koltykwerps, he showed me a map of the country in the upper
world once inhabited by them, and traced for me the course they
had sailed upon abandoning that country, and described the
beautiful shores they had landed upon in their search for a new

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 161

home. I saw at a glance that it was Greenland which Bulli-
brain was thus unconsciously describing ; and knowing as I did
that in past ages Greenland had been a land of blue skies,
warm winds, green meadows, and fertile valleys, before moving
mountains of ice came down from the North and crushed all
life out of it, I listened with breathless interest to his wonderful
tales of its beautiful lakes, nestled at the foot of vine-clad
mountains, all of which Bullibrain now looked upon in fair
visions inherited from his ancestors. And 1 also knew that it
must have been the Arctic Ocean which had been traversed by
the ships of the ‘Koltykwerps, who had then landed upon the,
in those days, sunny shores of Northern Russia.

But the mountains of ice could sail too, and they followed the
fleeing Koltykwerps like mighty monsters, dashing themselves
with terrible roar and crash upon the peaceful shores, which
they soon transformed into a wilderness of berg, of glacier, and
of floe.

Only a handful of the Koltykwerps survived ; and these, in
their dumb despair taking refuge in the clefts and caverns of the
North Urals, could from their hiding-places look upon one of
the strangest sights that had ever greeted human eyes. So
rapid had been the advance of these mighty masses of ice,
crashing against the mountain sides and rending the very rocks
in their fury, that the air gave up its warmth, and the sun was
powerless to give it back again. The animals of the wild wood
and the beasts of the field, overtaken in their flight, perished as
they ran and stood there stark and stiff, with heads uptossed
and muscles knotted. Them by the thousaiuis and ten times
thousands the crushed crystals of the pursuing floods caught
up like moss and leaves in a mountain torrent and packed in
every cave and cavern on the way, tearing broader and loftier
portals into these subterranean chambers, so that they might do
their work the better !

“ And these, then, O Bullibrain, are your meat quarries,” I
exclaimed, “ whence ye draw your daily food ? ”

162

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“Even so, little baron,” replied the hot-headed Koltykwerp,
“ and not only our food, but the skins which serve us so admir-
ably for clothing in this cold, under ground world, and the oil,
too, which burns in our beautiful alabaster lamps, besides a hun-
dred other things, such as bone for helves and handles, horn for
needles and buttons and eating utensils, wool for the weaving
of our under-garments, and magnificent pelts of bear and seal
and walrus, which, laid upon our benches and divans of crystal
ice, transform them into beds and couches which even an
inhabitant of thy world might envy.”

“But, O Bullibrain,” I cried out, “have ye not almost ex-
hausted these supplies ? Will not death from starvation soon
stare ye all in the face in these deep and icy caverns of the under
world, visited by the sun’s light yet un warmed by it ? ”

“Nay, little baron,” answered Bullibrain with a smile almost
as warm as one of my own ; “ let not that thought give thee a
moment’s alarm, for we have as yet barely raised the lid of this
ice-box of nature’s packing. We are not large eaters any way,”
continued Lord Hot Head, “ for while it is true that we are not
indolent people, for his frigid Majesty’s palace and our dwellings
need constant repair, and new hatchets and axes must be chipped
out in the flint quarries and new lamps carved and new garments
woven, yet it is also true that we take life rather easy. We
have no enemies to slay, no quarrels to settle, no gold to fight
over, no land to drive our fellow-creatures from and fence in;
nor can we be ill, if we were willing to be, for in this pure, cold,
crisp air disease would try in vain to sow her poison germs ;
hence, needing no doctors, we have none, as we have no lawyers
either, or merchants to sell us what belongs to us already.
His frigid Majesty is an excellent king. I never read of a better
one. I doubt that his like exists in the upper world. Always
cool headed, no thought of conquest, no dreams of power, no
longings for empty pomp and show ever enter his mind. Since
the day his father died and we set the great Koltykwerp crown
of crystal ice upon his cool brow, his temperature has never

A MAHVELLOl/S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 163

risen but a half a degree, and that was only for a brief hour or
so, and was occasioned by a mad proposal of one of his council-
lors, who claimed that he had discovered an explosive compound,
something like the gunpowder of thy world, I fancy, by which
he could shatter the glorious window of rock crystal set in the
mountain dome of our under world and let in the warm sun-
shine.”

“ Did his frigid Majesty Gelidus put this daring Koltykwerp
to death?” I asked.

“ Oh, dear, no,” replied Bullibrain ; “he merely ordered him to
be refrigerated for so many horn's a day until all his feverish
projects had been chilled to death ; for no doubt, liftle baron, a
man of thy deep learning knows full well that all the ills which
thy world suffers from are the children of fevered brains, of
minds made restless and visionary by the high temperature of the
blood which gallops through the approaches to the dome of
thought, stirring up wild dreams and visions as thy sun lifts the
poisonous vapor from the stagnant pool.”

The more I listened to Bullibrain the more I liked him. The
fact of the matter is, I preferred to sit in his narrow cell with its
plain walls of ice lighted up by a single alabaster lamp and con-
verse with him to loitering in the splendid throne-room of his
frigid Majesty King Gelidus; but Bulger had discovered that
the pelts of Princess Schneeboule’s divan were much thicker,
softer, and warmer than the single one allowed Lord Hot Head,
and therefore he preferred spending his time with her; but fear-
ing lest he might get into mischief, I didn’t dare to leave him
alone with the princess too long at a time.

164 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XXIV

SOME FEW THINGS CONCERNING THE DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS
SCHNEEBOULE. — HOW SHE AND I BECAME FAST FRIENDS,
AND HOW ONE DAY SHE CONDUCTED BULGER AND ME INTO
HER FAVORITE GROTTO TO SEE THE LITTLE MAN WITH THE
FROZEN SMILE. — SOMETHING ABOUT HIM. — WHAT CAME OF
MY HAVING LOOKED UPON HIM QUITE FULLY DESCRIBED.

At the time of Bulger’s and my arrival in the land of the
Koltykwerps the Princess Schneeboule was about fifteen years
of age, and I must say that rarely had it been my good fortune
to make the acquaintance of such a sweet-tempered, lovable little
creature. She flitted about the ice palace like a beam of sun-
light, and there was nothing of the spoiled child about her,
although a bit mischievous at times.

Her voice was as full of music as a skylark’s, and it was not
many days before she and I had become the best friends in the
world.

Now, you must know, dear friends, that according to the law
of the Koltykwerps, a princess is left absolutely free to choose
her own husband, and his frigid Majesty was very anxious that
Schneeboule should pick hers out as soon as possible. Moreover,
the law of the land gave her perfect freedom to choose a hus-
band of high or low degree, provided he was young enough.
The way in which a Koltykwerp princess was required to make
known her preference was to press a kiss upon the cheek of the
young man whom she might settle upon. This ennobled him at
once, and he became the heir apparent to the throne of ice, and
entitled to sit on its steps until he should be crowned king.
Now, his frigid Majesty was delighted to see this friendship

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 165

spring up between Schneeboule and me, for he hoped to make
use of my influence to bring her to set the necessary kiss on
some youth’s cheek before I took my departure from the cold
Kingdom of the Koltykwerps. I gave him the word of a noble-
man that I would do my best to carry out his wishes.

With Schneeboule for a guide, Bulger and I often went for
walks through the splendid ice grottos of her father’s kingdom,
selecting days when the sunlight of the outer world poured
strongest through the mighty lens set in the side of the moun-
tain. Then these grottos took on a splendor that my poor
tongue is powerless to describe. Their crystal mazes glittered
as if their walls were set with massive jewels most wonderfully
cut and polished, and as if their ceilings were fretted with gems
so peerless that all the gold of the upper world would fall far
short of paying for them. Here, there, and everywhere the skill
of the Koltykwerps had carved and chiselled graceful flights of
steps, broad landings with majestic columns, and winding corri-
dors lined with long rows of statues, single and groupwise ; and
ever and anon the visitor came upon a terrace where, seated upon
a fur-covered divan, he might look out upon the bewildering
beauty of King Gelidus’ icy domains, arch touching arch and
dome springing from dome, while over and above all, through the
gigantic lens in its granite setting, a mile above our heads,
streamed a flood of glorious sunlight, lighting up this World
within a World with a radiance so grand and so complete as to
seem to be a sun of a far greater splendor than the one that
warmed the upper world and bathed it in so many gorgeous hues
at morn and eve. Hardly a day went by now that the princess
of the Koltykwerps did not surprise either Bulger or me with
some gift or other.

To tell the truth, dear friends, although my Russian coat was
fur-trimmed, yet I began to feel the need of warmer garments after
a week’s sojourn in the icy domain of King Gelidus, and I think
Schneeboule must have heard my teeth chattering, for one morn-
ing, upon entering the Palace of Ice, I was delighted to be pre-

166 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

sented with a full suit of fur precisely similar to the one worn
by King Gelidus himself.

Nor was Bulger forgotten by the loving little Princess, for
with her own hands she had knitted him a blanket of the soft-
est wool, which she belted so snugly around his body and
tied so tightly around his neck that henceforth he felt per-
fectly comfortable in the chill air of the home of the Kolty-
kwerps.

One day the Princess Schneeboule said to me^, —

“ Oh, come, little baron, come to my favorite grotto, now that
the sun’s rays are bright within it ; there shalt thou see a
wonder.”

“ A wonder. Princess Schneeboule ? ”

“ Yes, little baron, a wonder,” she repeated : “ the Little Man
with the Frozen Smile.”

“Little Man with the Frozen Smile?” I echoed.

“ Come and see, come and see, little baron ! ” cried Schnee-
boule, hurrying on ahead.

In a few moments we had reached the grotto and bounded
into it with the Princess leading the way.

Suddenly she halted in front of a magnificent block of crystal
ice, clear as polished glass, and cried out, —

“ There, look ! There is the Little Man with the Frozen
Smile ! ”

Even now, as the thought of that moment comes over me, I
feel something of the thrill of half fear, half joy, as my eyes fell
upon the little creature shut in that superb block of ice, himself
a part of it, himself its heart, its contents, its mystery. There,
in its centre, in easy posture, with wide opened eyes, and with
what might be called a smile upon its face — that is a glint of
kindliness and affection in its strange eyes with their overhang-
ing brows, sat a small animal of the chimpanzee race. He had
possibly been asleep when the icy flood struck him, dreaming of
beautiful trees bending beneath purple fruit, of cloudless skies
above and a coral beach below, and death had come to him so

THE LITTLE MAN WITH THE FROZEN SMILE.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 169

quickly that he had become a brother to this block of ice while
the happy di-eam was still in his thoughts.

It was wonderful, it was more than wonderful ! Spellbound
by the strange spectacle, I stood there, I know not how long, with
my eyes looking into his. At last Schneeboule’s voice aroused
me :

“Ha! ha !” she laughed ; “ look, little baron, Bulger is try-
ing to kiss his poor dead brother.”

In truth, Bulger did have his nose pressed finnly against the
block of ice in his effort to scent the strange animal imprisoned
in that crystal cell — so near, and yet so far beyond the reach of
his keen scent.

“Well, little baron,” cried Schneeboule, “ did I not speak
truly ? Have I not shown thee the Little Man with the F rozen
Smile ? ”

“ Indeed thou hast, fair princess,” was my reply ; “ and I cannot
tell thee how grateful I am to thee for liaving done so.”

Then, as she plucked me by the sleeve, I pleaded, “Nay,
gentle Schneeboule, not yet, not yet, let me bide a bit longer.
The Little Man with the Frozen Smile seems to beg me not to
go. I can almost imagine that I hear him whisper : ‘ O little
baron, break open the crystal cell of my prison and take me with
thee back to the world of sunshine, back to the land of the
orange-tree, where the soft warm winds used to rock me to sleep
in the cradle of the swaying boughs, while the wise and watchful
patriarch of our flock stood guard over us all.’ ”

Schneeboule’s big, round, gray eyes filled with tears at these
words.

“ Would that he were alive, little baron,” she murmured, “and
that I could give him some of my happiness to pay him back for
all the long years he has been spending in his icy prison.”

In a few moments Sclineeboule took me by the hand and led
me away from the great block of ice with its silent prisoner.
My heart was very heavy, and both Schneeboule and Bulger did
their utmost to divert me, but all to no purpose.

170 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

Leaving tlie princess at the portal of the palace, I went to
my dwelling which was ablaze with the soft glow of its alabas-
ter lamps, and there I found a beautiful new pelt spread over
my divan, a new gift from King Gelidus. But I could take no
jdeasure in it. My thoughts were all with the Little Man with
the Frozen Smile locked in the icy embrace of that crystal
mould, which, in its cold irony, let him seem to be so free and
unfettered and yet held him in such vise-like grip. After a while
I dismissed my serving people and laid me down for the night
with my dear Bulger nestled against my breast. But I could
not sleep. All night long those strange eyes with their un-
canny glint followed me about, pleading strong but silent for
me to come again', for me to soften my heart like a child of the
sunshine that I was, to shatter his crystal dungeon, and set him
loose, to bear him away from the icy domain of the Koltykwerps
out into the warm air of the upper world. What was I dream-
ing about? Was he not dead? Had not his spirit left his body
thousands and thousands of years ago ? Why should I let such
wild thoughts vex my mind? What good would come of it?
None, none whatever. I was a reasonable creature, I must not
give lodgment within my brain to such silly ideas.

The Little Man with the Frozen Smile had been, through al-
most playful fate, laid away in a beautiful tomb. I must not
disturb it. No doubt in his lifetime he had been the pet of
a noble manor, brought to the Northland from some sunny
clime by master of powerful argosy. Let him rest in peace. I
must not dare to mar the beauty of his crystal tomb, so glori-
ously transparent!

I was even soriy that Schneeboule had led me into her beauti-
ful grotto, and resolved to go thither no more.

What poor weak creatures are we, so fertile in good resolu-
tions and yet so unfruitfid of results, planting whole acres with
fair promises, but when the tender shoots pierce the ground
turning our back upon the crop as if it didn’t belong to us I

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

171

CHAPTER XXV

A SLEEPLESS NIGHT FOR BULGER AND ME AND WHAT FOL-
LOWED IT. — INTERVIEW WITH KING GELIDUS. — MY REQUEST
AND HIS REPLY. — WHAT ALL TOOK PLACE WHEN I LEARNED
THAT THE KING AND HIS COUNCILLORS HAD DECIDED NOT TO
GRANT MY REQUEST. — STRANGE TUIVIULT AMONG THE KOLTY-
KWERPS, AND HOW HIS FRIGID MA.TESTY STILLED IT, AND
SOME OTHER THINGS.

Not only had I been unable to sleep, but by my tossing
about I had kept poor dear Bulger awake so that when morning
came we both looked haggard enough. I felt as if I had been
through a fit of sickness, and no doubt he did too. At any rate
I had no appetite for the heavy meat diet of the Koltykwerps,
and seeing me refuse my breakfast, Bulger did likewise.

I had promised Schneeboule to come early to the palace, for
she had a number of questions which she wished to ask me con-
cerning the upper world.

“ Good-morning, little baron,” she cried in her sweetest tones
as I entered the throne-room. “ Didst sleep well last night on
the new pelt which papa sent thee?” I was about to make a
reply when Schneeboule’s hand coming in contact with mine, —
for we had both removed our gloves in order to shake hands, —
she uttered a piercing scream, and drawing back stood there
blowing her breath on her right palm as she exclaimed, again
and again, —

“ Firebrand ! Firebrand ! ”

In an instant King Gelidus and a group of his councillors
drew near, and, pulling over their gloves, one after the other
laid his hand in mine.

“Glowing coals ! ” cried his frigid Majesty.

172 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“ Tongue of flame ! ” roared Phrostyphiz.

“ Boiling water ! ” groaned Glacierbhoy.

“ Red hot ! ” hissed Icikul.

'■'•Thou must leave the palace at once,” half pleaded King
Gelidus. “It would simply he madness for me to permit such
a firehrand to remain within the walls of the royal residence.
The intense heat of thy body would be sure to melt a hole in its
walls ere the sun goes down.”

The royal councillors again drew off their gloves and laid
hands upon poor Bulger, when a second alarm, even wilder than
the first, was sent up and we were hastily escorted back to our
lodging-house.

No doubt, dear friends, you will be somewhat mystified upon
reading these words, but the explanation is easy: Owing to
worriment and lack of sleep, Bulger and I had awaked in a
highly feverish condition, and to the Koltykwerps we had really
seemed to be almost on fire, but our fever left us toward night ;
hearing which. King Gelidus sent for us and did all in his power
to entertain us with song and dance, in both of which, Schnee-
boule was very skilled. Finding that his frigid Majesty was
in such a rosy humor, if I may be allowed to speak that way of
a person whose face was almost as white as the alabaster lamps
over his head, I determined to ask him for permission to cleave
asunder the icy cell of the Little Man with the Frozen Smile,
and ascertain if possible from the collar, which, made up appar-
ently of gold and silver coin was clasped around his neck, to
whom he had belonged and where his home had been.

No sooner had I preferred my request, than I noticed that the
white face of the royal Gelidus parted with its smile and took
tui a terribly icy look.

Methought I could look through the tip of his nose as though
an icicle, and methought, too, that his ears shone in the light of
the alabaster lamps like sheets of crystal ice, and that his voice
as he spoke puffed into my face like the first flakes of a coming
snowstorm.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

173

I quickly repented me of my rash action. But it was too
late and I determined to stand by it.

“ Little baron,” spoke royal Gelidus in icy tones, “ never a
heart beat in a kingly breast that was purer and colder than
mine, freer from the warmth of selfishness, with not a single
liot corner for ire or anger to nestle in, or for weakness or folly
to make their hiding-places. For thousands of years my
people have inhabited this icy domain and breathed this pure
cold air, and never yet hath one desired to strike an axe of flint
into the walls of that crystal prison. However, little baron,
there may be some warm corner in my heart wherein cold and
limpid wisdom may not be at home. Therefore, come to me
to-morrow for my answer, meanwhile I’ll take council with the
coolest brains and coldest hearts about me. If they see no
harm in thy request, thou mayst crack open the crystal gates
that have for so many centuries shut the manlike creature in his
silent cell, and take him forth in order to study the mystic words
graven on his collar ; but upon the strict condition that in cleav-
ing open his house of crystal my quarry men so apply their
wedges of flint as to break the block into two equal pieces,
that when thou hast read what may be there, the two parts be
closed upon the little man again, edge fitting edge, like a per-
fect mould, so exactly that to the eye no sign of line or joint be
visible. Dost promise, little baron, that this shall be as to our
royal will, it seems meet that it should be ? ” •

I promised most solemnly that the crystal cell of the Little
Man with the Frozen Smile should be opened and closed
exactly as his frigid Majesty had directed.

It would be hard for me to tell you, dear friends, how happy
I went to rest that night upon my icy divan, and how as the
tiny flame of my alabaster lamp shed its soft glow upon the
walls of ice, I lay there turning over in my mind the strange
and mysterious pleasure which was soon to fall to my lot when
the quarry men of King Gelidus should set their wedges of flint
in this glorious block of ice and cleave it asunder.

174

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

Even Don Funi, Master of Masters, had never dreamed of
receiving a message from the people who lived in the very
childhood of the world, and in anticipation already I enjoyed
the splendid trinmph which would be mine when I came to
lecture before learned societies upon the mysterious lettering
on the curious collar clasping the neck of the Little Man with
the Frozen Smile.

Imagine my anguish then, dear friends, upon receiving a mes-
sage from King Gelidiis the next day that his councillors had
with one voice decreed against the opening of the crystal prison
which stood in Schneeboule’s grotto !

I was as if smitten with some sudden and awful ailment. I
had never felt until that moment how keen the tooth of disap-
pointment could be. I shivered first with a chill that made me
brother to the Koltykwerps, and then I burned with a fever so
raging that a wild rumor spread through Gelidus’ icy domain
that I was setting fire to the very walls and roof. With wild
outcries, and faces drawn with nameless dread, the subjects of
Ins frigid Majesty rushed pell mell up the wide flights of stairs
leading to the palace of ice, and pleaded for the king to show
himself.

In cold and frigid majesty, Gelidus walked out upon the plat-
form and listened to the prayers of his people.

“We shall burn,” they cried; “our beautiful homes will fall
about our ears. These crystal steps will melt away, and all
these fair columns and arches and statues and pedestals will
turn to water and empty themselves into the lower caverns of
the earth. The great window of our sky will fall with awful
crash upon our heads, putting an end forever to this fair domain
of crystal splendor. O Gelidus, haste thee, haste thee, ere it
l)e too late, let the little baron have his way before bitter disap-
pointment transforms his body and limbs into tongues of flame
to lick up this magnificent palace in a single night, and dash its
thousand alabaster lamps to the ground, a heap of sheards, no
fragment matching its brother fragment, but all a wretched
mass of worthless matter ! ”

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

175

King Gelidus and his frosty councillors saw that it would be
useless to attempt to reason with the people, and therefore turn-
ing toward them, he coldly waved his chilly right hand, and
with an icy smile spoke frostily as follows, —

“ Go, Koltykwerps to your homes, and he happy. What
think you, have I a heated brain, doth my heart steam with fool-
ishness, that you should think me capable of wishing harm to
the tiniest Koltykwerp that spins his top of ice in my fair king-
dom ? Go to your homes, I say ; the little baron is already cool-
ing off, for he hath m3' full consent to cleave asunder the cr3'stal
prison of the Little Man with the Frozen Smile. There is noth-
to be frightened about, 1113' children. So eat hearty suppers and
sleep soundl3^ to-niglit, for m3' ro3'al word for it, by to-morrow
morning the little baron will cease to be the least bit dangerous
to the peace and welfare of our 103”^ kingdom. A cold good-night
to vou all.”

In a short half hour the panic-stricken Kolt3"kwerps were all
back in their homes again, and when a messenger came from
King Gelidus to measure my temperature he found such a
great improvement that he opened his chill3" heart and sent me
a beautiful present from his treasure house, to wit : A small
block of ice, clearer than any gem I had ever seen, in the heart
of which la3' a glorious red rose in fullest bloom, each velvet
petal opened out eagerl3'. Upon consulting my diar3' I found
that it was just six months to a da3' since I had left Castle
Trump and the loved ones sheltered b3' its time-worn tiles, and
cold as was the covering of this thrice beautiful child of the
upper world I clasped it to my breast and shed tears.

And this was the wa3'’ it came about, dear friends, that King
Gelidus and his frost3' councillors were brought to give their
consent to m3' cleaving asunder the icy prison wherein la3' the
Little Man with the Frozen Smile.

176 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XXVI

HOW THE QUARRY MEN OF KING GELIDUS CLEFT ASUNDER THE
CRYSTAL PRISON OF THE LITTLE MAN WITH THE FROZEN
SMILE. — MY BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT, AND HOW I BORE
IT. — WONDERFUL HAPPENINGS OF THE NIGHT THAT FOL-
LOWED. — BULGER AGAIN PROVES HIMSELF TO BE AN ANI-
MAL OF EXTRAORDINARY SAGACITY.

Bulger and I had little appetite for the dainty breakfast of
stewed sweetbreads which the Koltykwerps set before us the
next morning, for I knew, and he half suspected, that something
important was going to happen, being nothing less than the
cleaving asunder of the crystal cell which had held the little
chimpanzee a prisoner for so many centuries.

Walking beside the merry Princess Schneeboule, who was
delighted to know that his frigid Majesty, her father, had at
last yielded to my wishes, Bulger and I set out for the beauti-
ful ice grotto ; behind us walked Phrostyphiz and Glacierbhoy
with instructions from the king to supervise the cleaving
asunder of the block of ice ; and after them came four of King
Gelidus’ quarry men, two bearing flint axes with helves of
polished bone, and two carrying the flint wedges to be used in
the work.

We soon entered Schneeboule’s grotto, and the task was at
once entered upon.

It seemed to me I could almost see the Little Man Avith the
Frozen Smile wink his eyelids as the quarry men set their
wedges in place and began to mark the line of fracture ; but, of
course, dear friends, you know what an imagination I have,
especially when I get worked up over anything. So you must

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 177

take what I say sometimes with a grain of salt, although as a
rule, you may accept my statements with child-like confidence.

With such wonderful skill did the Koltykwerpian quarry men
use their axes and wedges that in a few moments, to my great
delight, the huge block of ice fell asunder in perfect halves, in
one of which the little manlike creature lay on his side like a
casting in a mould.

I made haste to lift him out and wrap him a soft pelt, which
I had brought along for that purpose, and then I turned to
retrace my steps to my chamber, where I intended to begin at
once my study of whatever inscriptions should be found upon
his curious collar.

“ Remember little baron,” said Glacierbhoy, “ by express
command of his frigid Majesty, the Little Man with the Frozen
Smile must be returned to his crystal cell to-morrow morning at
this very hour.”

I bowed assent, and then, having accompanied Princess
Schneeboule as far as the bottom of the grand staircase leading
to the ice palace, I turned away and was soon in the privacy of
my own apartment.

Now came for me one of the bitterest disappointments of my
life ; but I submitted with a good grace, for it was fit punish-
ment visited upon me for my foolish vanity in striving to un-
earth some older record of the human race than had yet been
done by any of the great searchers and philosophers, not even
excepting that Master of Masters, Don Strephalofidgeguanerius-
fum !

Know then, dear friends, that the quaint collar, made up of
gold and silver coins, or disks, cunningly linked together, which
encircled the animal’s neck, contained not a single word or
letter of any language, the undersides being quite blank, and
the upper merely having roughly carved outlines of an object
which might possibly have been intended for the sun.

Wrapping the animal up in the soft pelt, I laid him away in
a corner of my divan and betook myself to the palace of his

178 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

frigid Majesty, where I frankly informed King Gelidus of my
great disappointment in not finding some few words or even a
single word of a language unknown to the wisest heads of the
upper world.

Schneeboule was so touched by my sadness that, had I not
skilfully kept out of her way, I verily believe she would have
thrown her arms around my neck and imprinted upon my cheek
the kiss which would have made me the king of the Kolty-
kwerps; but I had no longing to spend the rest of my life in
the icy domains of his frigid Majesty, even though my brow
would be crowned with the cold crown of the Koltykwerps. If
1 had been an old man, with slow and feeble pulse, it would
have been very different ; but my heart was too warm and my
blood too hot to fill such a position with agreeableness to myself
or satisfaction to the people of this icy under world. So I kept
the little princess busy enough, I can assure you, first with songs,
then with dance, and then with story-telling.

That night King Gelidus ordered a magnificent fete to be held
in my honor. Five hundred more alabaster lamps were lighted,
and the royal divans were laid with the richest pelts in the pal-
ace, and after the dancing and singing had ended, frozen tidbits
from the royal kitchen were passed around on alabaster salvers,
and Bulger and I ate until our teeth ached.

It was late when we reached our own apartment, and so full
were my thoughts of the beautiful sights which we had gazed
upon in the throne-room, that I had quite forgotten about the
poor Little Man with the Frozen Smile whom I had covered up
and tucked away on my divan ; but Bulger had not been so
hard-hearted.

Twenty times during the evening he had given me a sly tug
at my sleeve as much as to say, —

“ Come, little master, let’s hurry back ; dost not remember
that we left* my poor little frozen brother tucked away in that
icy chamber all alone by himself?” I was very weary and I fell
olf to sleep almost immediately, and yet I had an indistinct rec-

BULGER SHOWS THE BARON SOMETHING WONDERFUL.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

181

ollection that Bulger was not in his place against my breast.
I remembered feeling for him, but that’s all. It never flashed
upon me that he had gone and lain down beside the poor little
stranger, whom I had so unfeelingly lifted from his last resting-
place, and yet such must have been the case, for about midnight,
it seemed to me, I was awakened by a gentle tugging at my sleeve.

It was my faithful Bulger, but, half awake and half asleep as
I was, I merely thought that he was only asking for a caress, as
was often his wont when he fell a-thinking about home, so I
reached out and stroked his head several times and dropped off
again.

But the tugging began anew, and this time ’twas more vigor-
ous and with it came an impatient whine which meant, —

“ Come, come, little master, rouse thee ; dost suppose I would
break thy rest unless there were good reasons for it?” I didn’t
need a third reminder, but with a single bound landed on my feet,
and reaching out for one of the tiny tapers which the Koltykwerps
make use of as lighters, I carried the flames from the single lamp
burning on the wall to the three others hanging here and there.

The icy walls of my chamber were now ablaze with light.
There sat Bulger on the fur-covered divan, beside the place
where the Little Man with the Frozen Smile lay hidden under
the pelt. His tail was wagging nervously, and his large, lus-
trous eyes were fixed first upon me and then upon the covering
of his dead brother with an expression I never remembered hav-
ing seen in them before, and then with a sudden movement he
laid hold of the pelt and, drawing it aside, showed me, what
think you, dear friends, what, I ask in a tone half whisper, half
gasp, for now years after I still can feel that wonderful thrill
which I felt then ? Why, it was alive ! That ape-like creature
had come to life after his sleep of thousands of years in that
narrow, crystal cell ! Bulger had lain down beside his frozen
brother and warmed him back to life again !

Oh, it was wondrously wonderful to see that pair of little
eyes, beadlike in brightness, look up and blink at me ; and then

182

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

to hear that low, moaning voice, so human-like, as if it whim-
pered, with a shake and a shiver, —

“ Oh, how cold it is ! how very cold it is ! Where’s the
sun ? Where’s the soft warm wind, and where are the cloudless
skies so blue, oh so beautifully blue, that used to hang over my
head ? ”

Bidding Bulger lie down again beside him and snuggle up as
close as possible, I made haste to cover them both with the
softest skins I could find.

In a few moments there came from underneath the pile a low,
contented cry of “ Coojah ! Coojah ! Coojah ! ” followed by a
curious addition sounding like “ Fuff ! Fuff ! Fuff ! ” so I put
them all together and named the strange new comer to the icy
domain of King Gelidus — F uffcoojah I

Sleep any more that night? Not a wink. The same joy
came over me that I used to feel on Christmas morning long
ago when Kris Kringle brought me some wonderful bit of
mechanism moved by a secret spring — for I always scorned to
accept ordinary toys like ordinary children ; and oh, how I
longed for the morning, when it would be time for me to bundle
up the Little Man — no longer him with the Frozen Smile, but
Fuffcoojah, the Live Boy from Faraway, with his curious little
face screwed up into such a funny look — and carry him to the
palace.

How delighted Schneeboule will be I thought I, and King
Gelidus too, how he will unbend from his frigid majesty as he
watches the antics of Fuffcoojah, and how pleased all the digni-
fied Koltykwerpians, including even Phrostyphiz and Glacier-
bhoy, will be when I tell them that the Little Man with the
Frozen Smile has come to life again !

What crowds of Koltykwerps, men, women and children, will
rush up the long flights of steps leading to the Ice Palace, beg-
ging and entreating King Gelidus to let them have just a little
look at Fuffcoojah, the little man set free from his icy cell by
the famous traveller, Baron Sebastian von Troomp !

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 183

CHAPTER XXVII

EXCITEMENT OVER FUFFCOOJAH. — I CARRY HIM TO THE COURT
OF KING GELIDUS. — HIS INSTANT AFFECTION FOR PRINCESS
SCHNEEBOULE. — I AM ACCUSED OF EXERCISING THE BLACK
ART. — MY DEFENCE AND MY REWARD. — ANXIETY OF THE
KOLTYKWERPS LEST FUFFCOOJAH PERISH OF HUNGER. —
THIS CALAMITY AVERTED, ANOTHER STARES US IN THE
FACE : HOW TO KEEP HIM FROM FREEZING TO DEATH. — I
SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT DRAW UPON ME A STRANGE
MISFORTUNE.

It all turned out just as I had thought it would! The mo-
ment it became known that the Little Man with the Frozen
Smile had actually come to life, the wildest excitement prevailed
in every part of the icy domain of his frigid Majesty. I was
astounded at the change in the actions of the Koltykwerps.
They moved more quickly, they talked faster, they made more
gestures than I had ever seen them do before. In some cases,
you will hardly believe it, dear friends, I actually noticed a
faint glow in the cold cheeks of a few of them.

I had hoped to be able to bundle Fuffcoojah up warmly and
make my escape to the ice palace before the people learned of
his coming to life, but in vain. When I made my appearance
at the door, there was a large crowd of Koltykwerps pushing
and pulling in front of my quarters.

Most of them were good-natured, and cried out, —

“ Show him to us, little baron, show us the Little Man with
the Frozen Smile whom thou hast brought to life. Let us look
upon his face ! ”

“ Nay, nay, Koltykwerps ! ” I exclaimed, “ it must not be !

184 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

His frigid Majesty must be the first to look upon Fuffcoojah’s
face. Room, room for the noble guest of royal Gelidus ! In
the name of his frigid Majesty give way and let me pass ! ”

The Koltykwerps showed no inclination to obey. To such a
pitch of excitement had they worked themselves up that only
upon seeing Bulger advance upon them with flashing eye and
teeth laid bare, did they reach the conclusion that my brave
companion was in no mood to be trifled with.

Thwarted in their wild desire to get a peep at F ufEcoojah, the
Koltykwerps now began to rail at me as I passed them, by on
my way to the ice palace.

“ Oho, Master magician ! Ha, ha. Prince of the Black Art !
Boo, boo, little wizard ! Have a care, wily necromancer, see to
it that thou dost not practise any of thy tricks of enchantment
upon us ! ” I was glad when the axe-bearer saw my plight and
hurried forward to extricate me from the crowd of angry people.

King Gelidus met me at the portal of his ice palace, and at
his heels came Princess Schneeboule, who could hardly wait for
her turn to take a look at the curious living creature which I
unwrapped just enough to let her see its nose.

The instant F uffcoojah set eyes upon the sweet face of the
Koltykwerpian princess, he stretched out his little arm as a
child might to its mother. This sudden show of affection
caused Schneeboule the liveliest pleasure, and quickly drawing
off one of her gloves she reached out and stroked the animal’s
head, but at the touch of those, to him, icy little fingers he uttered
a low wail and drew back underneath the warm pelt in which he
was snugly wrapped.

Poor Schneeboule ! she gave a sigh as she saw him do this,
but it didn’t prevent her from coming every minute or so and
lifting one end of the pelt just enough to take another look at
Fuffcoojah, who, while he never failed to cuddle up closer to me
at sight of the princess, yet invariably thrust out one of his
black paws from under the pelt for Schneeboule to shake.
While seated on the divan nearest the throne, I observed that

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 185

Phrostyphiz and Glacierbhoy were holding a whispered con-
ference with his frigid Majesty. At once I guessed the subject
of their conversation.

Rising to my feet, I made a sign that I wished to address the
king, and when he had nodded his head with stern and icy
dignity, I began to speak. You know, dear friends, how elo-
quent I can be when the mood is upon me. Well, standing there
almost upon the steps of King Gelidus’ throne of ice, I proceeded
to defend myself against the charge of being a master of the
black art. I will not tell you all I said, but this was my ending :

“ May it please your frigid Majesty !

“ Here beside me stands the only magician in the case, and the
only art, the only trick or charm which was exercised by him
was that sweet power we call love. When first he set eyes upon
his four-footed brother locked in the crystal cell of Schneeboule’s
Grotto, he pressed his nose again and again against its icy wall
in vain attempt fo know his kinsman, and turned away with a
cry of sorrow to find that his keen scent could not penetrate to
him. I cannot tell you how great was his joy when I laid Fuft-
coojah stiff and stark upon my divan, for I knew not then the
scheme ripening in Bulger’s mind. But later, all was plain
enough. The loving dog leaves his master’s breast and carries
his true and tender heart over to where Fuffcoojah lies, raises
the pelt, crawls in beside him, and presses his warm breast firm
and hard against his brother’s ice-locked heart, and warms him
into life again, then wakes me and tells me what he hath done.

“ This, Royal Gelidus and most noble Koltykwerps, is the only
art that hath been used to bring Fuffcoojah back to life again,
and to call it black is to slander tlie sunsliine, rail at the lily, and
call the sweet breath of heaven a vile and detestable thing ! ”

When I had ended my speech I saw that Schneeboule had
been weeping, and that several of her tears stopped in their course
down her cheeks hung there sparkling like tiny diamonds in the
soft light of the alabaster lamps, where the chill air of Gelidus’
palace had turned them into ice.

186 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

And therefore when his frigid Majesty said that my words
liad touched his heart, and bade me ask for a gift from his hand,
I said, —

“ O cold king of this fair icy domain, let those tears that now
hang like tiny jewels on Schneeboule’s cheeks be brushed into an
alabaster box and given to me. I covet no other guerdon ! ”

“ Even if I did not love thee, little baron,” cried King Gelidus
with an icy smile, “ I would be persuaded ; but loving makes
easy believing. Go, Phrostyphiz, and bid one of the princess’s
Avomen brush those tiny jewels that hang on Schneeboule’s
cheek into an alabaster cup and bestow them upon the little
baron.”

Scarcely had this been done when Fuffcoojah thrust his head
out from under the pelt and, fixing his eyes pleadingly upon me,
thrust out his tongue and opened and shut his mouth with a
faint, smacking noise. Quick as a flash it dawned upon me that
these signs meant that F uflfcoojah was hungry }

And then, as I suddenly remembered that the Koltykwerps
were strictly a meaGeating people, that only meat was to be
had in their chill domain, quarried almost like marble itself from
nature’s great refrigerators, a gasp escaped my lips, and I
whispered, —

“ Oh, he must die ! He must die ! ” My words had not miss-
ed the keen ears of Princess Schneeboule.

“ Speak, little baron,” she cried, “ why, why, must little Fuff-
cojah die ? What dost mean by such a saying ? ” And when
King Gelidus and Schneeboule had heard me voice my fear that
he would die rather than feed on meat, they both became very
heavy-hearted.

“Poor little Fuffcoojah!” moaned the princess, “can it be
possible that he must be carried back so soon to his crystal cell
in my grotto ? ”

“ Bid the master of my meat quarries approach the throne,”
cried King Gelidus suddenly, in a voice of icy dignity.

This important functionary soon made his appearance.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 187

Turning to me, the king bade me explain the case to him.
This I did in a few words, when, to the great joy of all present
the master of the meat quarries spoke as follows : —

“ Little baron, if that’s the only trouble, give thyself no fur-
ther uneasiness, for I shall at once send one of my men to thee
with a supply of most delicious nuts.”

“Delicious nuts?” I repeated in a tone of amazement.

“ Why, yes, little baron, I have a goodl}'^ supply on hand.
Know, then, that hardly a day goes by that my men don’t come
upon some fine specimen of the family of gnawers, most gener-
ally squirrels, in whose cheek-pouches we invariably find from
one to half a dozen dainty nuts stowed away. It has always
been my custom to lay these aside, and so I have to inform thee
that if Fuffcoojah should live to be a hundred years old I or my
successor could guarantee to keep Ifim supplied with food.”

These Avords lifted a terrible load off my heart, for now, at
least, Fuffcoojah would not die of starvation.

For a few days everything went well. The Koltykwerps
became quite satisfied in their own minds that I had not been
practising the black art in the chilly kingdom of his frigid
Majesty, and each and every one of them became greatly at-
tached to the curious little creature with the droll little face
and droller manner.

But it seemed as if we were no sooner out of one trouble
than we were plumped into another, for now Fuffcoojah began
to object to the attendant selected to look after him by King
Gelidus.

The man was about ten degrees too cold-blooded for him, and
ere long it was only necessar}^ for the Koltykwerp to approach
Fuff, — as we called him for short, — in order to throw him
into convulsions of shivering and to cause him to utter pitiable
cries of discontent, which only ceased upon my appearing and
comforting him by my caresses.

I now set to work to devise some way to make Fuff’s life
more agreeable to him, for everybody seemed to hold me re-

188 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

sponsible for his well being. Ten times a day came messengers
from King Gelidus or from Princess Schneeboule to ask how he
was getting on, and whether we were keeping him warm enough,
whether he had all he wanted to eat, whether he had pelts
enough on his bed. Nor was it an unusual thing to have a
score or more Koltykwerpian mothers call at my quarters dur-
ing a single day with advice enough to last a month, and there-
fore was it that, with a view to providing him with a warmer
room to sleep in, I ordered a divan fitted up for him in a smaller
chamber opening into mine, upon the walls of which I directed
half a dozen of the largest lamps to be hung.

The consequence was that the walls began to melt, hearing of
which, consternation spread throughout the icy domain of his
frigid Majesty, for to the mind of a Koltykwerp heat powerful
enough to melt ice was something terrible. It was like the
dread of earthquake shock to us, or the fear of flood or flame.
It was something that filled their hearts with such terror that
in their dreams they saw the solid walls of the ice palace melt
asunder and fall with a crash. They could not bear it, and so
King Gelidus put forth the decree that if there were no other
way to keep Fuffcoojah alive, then must he die.

Hearing this, an awful grief came upon poor Schneeboule’s
heart, for she had learned to love little Fuff very dearly, and it
set a knife in her breast to think of losing him.

“ Never, never,” she cried, “ shall I be able to set foot within
my grotto if Fuffcoojah is put back into his crystal prison
again, with his frozen smile on his face as once used to be.”
And seeking out her royal father she threw herself at his knees
and spoke as follows : —

“ O heart of ice ! O frigid Majesty, let not thy child die
of grief. There is an easy way out of all our trouble with dear
little Fuffcoojah.”

“ Speak, beloved Schneeboule,” answered King Gelidus, “ let
me hear what it is.”

“Why, cold heart,” said the princess, “the little baron hath

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

189

plenty of warmth stored away in his body, he hath enough for
both himself and Fuffcoojah into the bargain. Therefore,
frigid father, command that a deep, warm hood be made to the
little baron’s coat, and that Fuffcoojah be placed therein and
be borne about by the little baron wherever he goeth. He will
soon grow accustomed to the slender burden and note it no
more.”

“ It shall be as thou wishest,” replied the king of the Kolty-
kwerps ; and calling his trusty councillor, Glacierbhoy, he
directed him to summon me at once to the throne-room. When
I heard this terrible order issue from the icy lips of King
Gelidus my heart sank within me, and yet I dared not disobey,
I dared not murmur, for I it was who had cleft asunder the
crystal prison of the Little Man with the Frozen Smile ; 1 who
had made it possible for Bulger to warm him back to life again.
Oh, poor, vain, weak, foolish boy that I had been, what was to
become of me now ?

190 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XXVIII

HOW A LITTLE BURDEN MAY GROW TO BE A GRIEVOUS ONE.
— STORY OF A MAN WITH A MONKEY IN HIS HOOD. — MY
TERRIBLE SUFFERING. — CONCERNING THE AWFUL PANIC
THAT SEIZED UPON THE KOLTYKWERPS. — MY VISIT TO THE
DESERTED ICE-PALACE, AND WHAT HAPPENED TO FUFF-
COOJAH. — END OF HIS BRIEF BUT STRANGE CAREER. — A
FROZEN KISS ON A BLADE OF HORN, OR HOW SCHNEEBOULE
CHOSE A HUSBAND.

Ah, little princess, how easy was it for thee to say that I
would soon grow accustomed to the slender burden and note it
no more ? How prone are we to call light the burdens which
we lay upon the shoulders of others for our own benefit? True,
F uffcoojah was not as long as a horse, nor as broad as an ox, and
when in accordance with the king’s decree the hood had been
completed and the little animal was stowed away therein, close
against my back so as to get a goodly share of the warmth of
my body, it seemed to me that Schneeboule was right, that I
would soon become accustomed to the load and note it no more.
And so it seemed the second and the third day, but not on the
fourth ; for on that day the little load appeared to have gained
somewhat in weight, and although I was quick to feign that it
was not so when Princess Schneeboule quizzed me saying, —

“ There, little baron, did I not tell thee that thou wouldst
soon forget that Fuffcoojah slept upon thy shoulders?” yet in
my heart I felt that he really had grown a mite heavier.

On the fifth day Bulger and I were bidden to a merry-making
at the palace of ice, and as I rose from my divan to betake me
thither, methought I was strangely heavy-hearted, and so did

THE BAUON’S FLIGHT TO THE ICE PALACE.

■

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 193

Bulger, for he made several efforts to draw a smile, or a cheery
tone, from me, but in vain.

Suddenly I realized that there was a weight pressing against
my back, no, not a heavy weight, but a weight all the same, and
then I whispered to myself, “ Why, if I am going to a merry-
making, I’ll cast it off ! ” and then I wakened from my deep
abstraction and murmured, —

“ How strange that I should have forgotten that Fuffcoojah
was in my hood ? ” And so I went to the merry-making with
Fuffcoojah nestled between my shoulders, and the Koltykwerps
laughed at the little baron and his child, as they called him, and
drew near and raised the flap and peeped in at the curious crea-
ture within the hood, and when F uffcoojah felt their icy breaths,
he buried his nose in the fur and sighed and whimpered. Then,
for a moment, when the Princess Schneeboule came and sat beside
me and praised me for my readiness to carry out her wishes, and
thanked me so sweetly for my goodness to her, I forgot all about
the little load laid upon me, and I ate the fi-ozen tidbits from the
royal kitchen, and laughed and joked with Lords Phrostyphiz
and Glacierbhoy, just as had been my wont before Gelidus had
decreed that Fuffcoojah should make his bed on my shoulders.

But when the fete was over and I stepped from the broad por-
tal of the ice-palace and looked up at the mighty lens set in the
mountain side, through which the moonlight of the outer world
was streaming in subdued but glorious splendor, I suddenly felt
my legs bend under me, I staggered from right to left, I clutched
at shadows, I was, it seemed to me, about to be crushed beneath
a terrible burden. I quickened my pace, I broke into a run, I
threw my arms into the air as if I would cast off the weight that
was smothering me. And so I came to my lodging puffing,
panting, gasping.

“ Why, what a fool am I ! ” was my flrst word when I had
got my breath ; “ it’s only little Fuffcoojah on my back, stowed
away in my fur hood. I must be beside myself to have thought
that a great monster was seated there and that he was gradually

194 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

pressing me down, crushing the life out of me by degrees, flat-
tening me to the very ground, and I not able to escape from his
terrible embrace or to squirm out from under his awful limbs
wrapt around my neck and body ! ”

All night long this monster was clinging to me, and urging
me to a faster pace, up and down, across and around, I knew not
where, on bootless errands, ending only to begin again, on searches
after nothing hidden nowhere, trying a thousand lids and finding
every one locked, returning home only to go forth again, up and
away and out on interminable highways vanishing in a point far
on ahead, with that grievous burden forever on my shoulders
growing heavier and heavier, till it seemed that I must go down
with it into the dust. But no, it knew full well that it must
not ride me to the death, so when I was ready to drop, it threw
off part of its weight to give me courage to begin again. When
the morning came my pulse was galloping and my cheeks were
on fire. I could feel the blood pounding against my temples,
and it was natural that my face should be crimsoned over with
the flush of fever. Half in a daze I walked forth toward the
grand staircase leading up to the ice palace, when suddenly I
was startled by a fearful scream. I halted and looked up, when
another and another burst upon my ears.

The terrified Koltykwerps were fleeing before me in every
direction, shrieking as they fled, —

“ Fly, fly, brothers, the little br.ron is burning, the little baron
is burning, fly, brothers, fly ! ”

In a few moments terror had seized upon every living
creature in the icy domain of King Gelidus. They fled from
me in mad haste, taking refuge in the distant caverns and cor-
ridors, filling the air with their wild outcries, no one being brave
enough to halt and take a second look. My inflamed counte-
nance filled them with such awful terror that they could only
tear along and cry, —

“ Fly, brothers, fly ; the little baron is burning, the little baron
is burning ! ”

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 195

With Bulger at my heels, I turned and sprang up the stair-
case with the intention of seeking out King Gelidus, and ex-
plaining the matter to him.

But he, too, had fled, and with him every sentinel and serv-
ing man, every courtier and councillor. The palace was as still
as death. I hastened through its silent corridors calling out, —
“ Schneeboule ! Princess Schneeboule ! Surely thou art not
afraid of me ? Turn back, I will not harm thee. I’m not burn-
ing ! Turn back, oh, turn back ! ”

With this, I reached the throne-room ; not a living creature
was to be seen ; the vast chamber was as still as death. I stag-
gered to a divan, and pillowing my poor aching head on a
cushion, I fell into a sound and refreshing sleep.

When I awoke, I rubbed my eyes and looked about me, and
at first I thought that I was still alone in the great round
chamber with its walls of ice ; but no, there on the divan sat
Schneeboule, and she smiled and said in mock displeasure, —

“ Thou art not a very watchful nurse, little baron, for in thy
sleep thou didst squeeze Fuffcoojah so tightly against a cushion,
that he crawled out from thy hood and nestled in my arms.”

“ In thy arms, Schneeboule ? ” I exclaimed breathlessly, for
I feared for the worst, and springing up I di'ew aside the soft
pelt which she had wrapped around Fuffcoojah, and there he
lay, dead ! Poor little beast, he had been so happy to crawl
into the arms of one he loved so dearly, and had cuddled up
closer and closer to her in search of greater warmth ; but only
to come nearer and nearer to a heart that could not warm him ;
and so the insidious chill of death, which bringeth sweet and
pleasant drowsiness with it, had stole over him and he had
died.

And Schneeboule’s tears, freezing as they fell, now showered
like a gentle hail of tiny gems upon the little dead beast, no
longer Fufifcoojali, but once again the Little Man with the Frozen
Smile. Presently the Koltykwerps recovered from their sense-
less fear, and fii*st one by one, and then group-wise, they returned

196 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

to their homes, King Geliclus and his court coming back too,
to the fair palace which they had abandoned in their wild
fright when the cry had gone up that the little baron was
burning.

Everybody was sorry to hear that Fuffcoojah had died the
second time, and many were the frozen tears that dropped from
the chilly cheeks of the Koltykwerps as they looked upon the
Little Man with the Frozen Smile as he lay on the white pelt
beside the Princess Schneeboule.

That day we bore him back to the ice grotto, and having laid
him in the hollow moulded by his body in the crystal block, it
was closed again so skilfully by the king’s quarrymen that no
eye was keen enough to note where the cleavage had been.
And the same uncanny glint was in his eyes, and when the
Koltykwerps saw this their icy hearts felt a cold shiver of
satisfaction, for not only was the Little Man with the Frozen
Smile back in his crystal cell again, but all the fears and dread-
ful fancies which his coming to life again had given rise to
were past and gone forever, and peace and quiet and sweet
contentment reigned throughout the icy realm of his frigid
Majesty Gelidus, King of the Koltykwerps !

Now nothing remained to make his cold heart crack with joy
but to see his beloved child Schneeboule make choice of a
husband. And he had not long to wait, for one day upon enter-
ing the palace she saw a youth lying at the foot of the stair-
way overcome with sleep. In one hand he held an alabaster
lamp, and in the other a new wick which he was about to fit
into it, for the youth was a lamp-trimmer in the ice palace of
King Gelidus ; and when the Princess Schneeboule saw him
lying there overcome with sleep, she stooped and kissed him on
the cheek, and passed on without another thought about the
matter, one way or the other.

And the kiss froze on the cheek of the lamp-trimmer, where
Schneeboule had pressed it.

Presently King Gelidus came tramping into the hallway with

)

DKATH OF FUFFCOOJAH.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 199

his breath white upon his beard, and he saw the youth lying
there, and the frozen kiss on his cheek, and he bade Glacier-
bhoy scrape the delicate frost crystals from the youth’s face
with a blade of polished horn.

“ What hast there, father of mine ? ” asked the princess,
when she saw him bearing the blade of horn along so care-
fully.

“ A kiss which someone pressed upon the cheek of one of my
lamp -trimmers, now lying on the staircase overcome with
sleep,” replied King Gelidus, in ringing, icy tones.

“ Why, father of mine,” exclaimed Princess Schneeboule,
“ now that thou speakst of it, I really believe the kiss is mine,
for I recollect kissing someone as I entered the palace, I was
deep in thought, but no doubt the youth pleased me as he lay
there, asleep with lamp in one hand and wick in the other.”

And that lamp-trimmer trimmed no more lamps in the ice
palace of his frigid Majesty Gelidus, King of the Koltykwerps.

No doubt he made Schneeboule a very good husband, and I’m
quite sure that she made him a good wife. I would have been
glad to tarry for the nuptial feast, but that was out of the
question. I had stayed too long already.

200 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XXIX

SOMETHING CONCERNING THE MANY PORTALS TO THE ICY DO-
MAIN OF KING GELIDUS AND THE DIFFICULT TASK OF CHOOS-
ING THE EIGHT ONE. — HOW BULGER SOLVED IT. — OUR

FAREWELL TO THE COLD-BLOODED KOLTYKWERPS. —

schneeboule’s sorrow at losing us.

As Bullibrain had once remarked, when there are many doors
it’s a wise man who knows which is the rigbt one to open ; and
this I found to he the case when I attempted to take my de-
parture from the icy domain of his frigid Majesty, Gelidus, King
of the Koltykwerps, for there was a baker’s dozen of galleries, in
each of which, upon exploring it, I came, after a tramp of half
a mile or so, up against a lofty gate of solid ice, curiously carved
and fitting the end of the gallery as a cork does a bottle.

No doubt you are wondering why I didn’t make my way out
of the Koltykwerpian kingdom by following the river : for the
very good reason that it went no farther than King Gelidus’s
domain, emptying into a vast reservoir which apparently had
a subterranean outlet, for its thick covering of ice always re-
mained at the same height.

The king’s quarrymen were ordered to hew an opening
through whichever door I should point out as the one that I
wished to pass through, but I was informed by Phrostyphiz that
according to the law of the land but one door could be opened
during any one j’^ear, so that if I found my way blocked and
turned back again it would mean a delay of twelve months.
Bullibrain, with all his wisdom, was powerless to assist me,
although I was half inclined to think that he might have done
so had he been permitted to investigate the secret records of

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 201

the kingdom, carved upon huge tablets of ice, and stored away
in the vaults of the palace.

The fact of the matter is King Gelidus w'as so desirous of having
me assist at the marriage feast of Princess Schneeboule, that he
threw every obstacle in my way that he could, without openly
showing his hand. And Schneeboule herself by the dancing of
her clear gray eyes gave me to understand that she, too, was
hoping that I would make a mistake when I came to point out
the door which I wanted opened.

Bulger saw that I was in trouble, but couldn’t comprehend
clearly what that trouble was. He kept his eyes fastened upon
me, however, watching my every movement, hoping, no doubt,
to solve the mystery.

While sitting one day lost in thought over the very serious
problem which I found myself called upon to solve, an idea
struck me : I had noticed that in the meat-quarries, the work-
men often made use of sounding-rods, which were long pieces
of polished bone, ending in flint tips. A Koltykwerpian quarry-
man by dexterously twisting this rod, was able to bore a hole
six feet deep or more into the solid bed of ice when desirous of
ascertaining the position of a carcass in the meat quarry, and it
occured to me that by piercing the portals of ice which closed
their various corridors I have spoken of, possibly Bulger’s keen
scent might recognize that current of air which would have in
it the odor of earth and rock ; in other words, make choice for
me of the portal which opened on that corridor leading away
from the icy domain of King Gelidus and not merely into some
outlying chamber of his kingdom.

His frigid Majesty could not object to such experiments, for
tlie law only forbade the hewing of openings large enough for
the hewer to pass through.

King Gelidus and half a dozen of his courtiers, looking stern
and frigid and conversing in freezing tones, were present to see
the experiment tried. Methouglit their icy lips clacked to-
gether with satisfaction when, at my request, one portal after

202

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

another was pierced, but Bulger, after sniffing at the hole,
turned away with a bewildered look in his eyes as if he didn’t
half understand why I was ordering him to thrust his warm
nose into such cold places.

And so we tramped from corridor to corridor, until the
quarrymen began to show signs of fatigue, and the sounding-
rod turned slower and slower in their hands.

Phrostyphiz blinked his cold gray eyes as much as to say,
“ Little baron, thou must bide with us for another year ! ” But
1 merely turned to the quarrymen, and ordered them to pierce
one more portal of ice ere we abandoned the task for the day.
They went at the work of piercing the eleventh door with the
pace of pack-mules up a mountain-side. But at last the sound-
ing-rod bored a way through, and at a wave of my hand the
quarrymen fell back. In an instant Bulger had his nose at the
hole, and took three or four quick, nervous sniffs, ending with a
long, deep-drawn one, and then breaking out into a string of
sharp, jerky, joyful barks, he began scratching furiously at the
bottom of the portal.

“Your frigid Majesty,” said I, with a low and stately bend of
my body such as only those born to the manner can make, “by
this portal, at the coming of to-morrow’s sun, I shall pass from
your Majesty’s icy dominion!” And when Phrostyphiz and
Glacierbhoy heard these words of mine uttered so loftily, their
eyes gleamed cold as steel, and they followed the King in silence
back to the palace of ice. Schneeboule met them in the grand
hallway ; and when she had looked upon their faces she began
to weep, for she loved me and she loved Bulger too, and her
cold little heart could not bear the thought of our going.

King Gelidus, however, soon recovered his spirits, and ordered
a feast with song and dance in honor of Bulger, who during the
festivities sat on the highest divan with the softest pelt beneath
him ; and so many were the frozen tidbits which the Koltykwerps
presented to him during the progress of the feast, that I grew
alarmed lest he might overload his stomach and not be in a fit

KOLTYKWKIUMAN QUARRYMEN HEWING A PASSAGE THROUGH THE WALL OF ICE

i -

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 205

condition to make the early start on our journey, of which I
had given notice to the Koltykwerpian monarch. But his good
sense saved him from doing so foolish a thing; in fact, I was
greatly amused to see that, while he accepted every tidbit
handed to him, and solemnly went through the motions of
chewing it, yet watching his chance, he slyly dropped it out of
his mouth and flirted it aside with his paw. Thus was spent
our last night at the icy court of his frigid Majesty, and on the
morrow the Koltykwerps collected in great crowds on tlie differ-
ent terraces to say good-by. I pressed a kiss on the cheek of
Princess Schneeboule, and when it had turned to ice crystals,
one of her men brushed it into an alabaster box.

Prince Chillychops, the former lamp-trimmer, was on hand
with the rest of the Koltykwerpian nobles, but I flattered my-
self that Schneeboule loved me better than she did him. How-
ever, I wished him joy, and gripped his cold palm with such
warmth that he stood blowing it for a whole -minute. When
we reached the lofty portal we found that the quarrymen had
already hewn a passage through it, and near by I observed a
pile of massive blocks of ice, crystal clear.

These, when Bulger and I should pass through the opening,
were to be used in walling it up again ; and when I saw this pile
of blocks, and remembered the solid workmanship of the Kolty-
kwerpian quarrymen, the thought flitted through my mind : Sup-
pose Bulger hath not chosen wusely, what use would there be in
turning back, for my own weak hands would be powerless
against a wall built of such blocks, and knock I ever so loud,
how could the sound ever traverse this long and winding corri-
dor and reach the ear of a Koltykwerp? “No,” said I to my-
self, “ if Bulger hath not chosen wisely, it will be good-by to
both upper and under worlds.” And then, bearing an alabaster
lamp in one hand and in the other holding the cord which I had
tied to Bulger’s collar, I stepped through the narrow passage
hewn by the quarrymen, and turned my back forever on the cold
dominion of Gelidus, King of the Koltykwerps. Once I halted

206 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

and looked back. I could see nothing, but I could hear the sharp
click of the flint axes as the quanymen closed up the door that
shut me out from so many cold but loving hearts. And then I
di'ew a long breath and went on my way again.

And that was the last I ever saw of the Koltykwerps save in
day dream or night vision.

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A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 209

CHAPTER XXX

ALL ABOUT THE MOST TERRIBLE BUT MAGNIFICENT RIDE I
EVER TOOK IN MY LIFE. — NINETY MILES ON THE BACK OF
A FLYING MASS OF ICE, AND HOW BULGER AND I WERE
LANDED AT LAST ON THE BANKS OF A MOST WONDERFUL
RIVER. — HOW THE DAY BROKE IN THIS UNDER WORLD.

Had my hand at that moment not grasped a cord tied to the
neck of my wise and keen-eyed Bulger, I really believe 1
would have come to a halt, faced about, retraced my steps,
and begged the inhabitants of this crystal realm to admit me
once more into the cold kingdom where Gelidus held his icy
court ; for a sudden fit of depression came upon me as the chilly
air struck against my cheeks and I saw the deep darkness made
visible by the tiny flame of my alabaster lamp.

Cold though it might be, I would have sunshine in the icy
land of the Koltykwerps, but now how could I tell what fate
awaited me ?

Luckily, I had asked the captain of the meat quarries to allow
me to retain one of his sounding-rods with its flint point, for
I feared lest in descending some icy declivity I might fall and
bruise, or even break, a limb.

I was determined to advance cautiously along this icy passage,
shrouded as it was in impenetrable gloom, and so different from
the broad and polished pavement of the Marble Highway ; and
hence, hanging the lamp about my neck, T proceeded to make
use of the sounding-rod as an alpenstock, for which purposes it
was admirably adapted. Suddenly Bulger halted, gave a low
whine of warning, and turned back. In an instant I knew that
there was danger ahead, and letting myself drop on my hands

210 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

and knees crawled carefully along to make an investigation of
the dangerous spot in our route signalled by the watchful
Bulger.

It was only too true : we stood apparently upon the very edge
of a sheer parapet, how high I had no way of ascertaining, but
I was unable to reach any bottom with the sounding-rod.

What was to be done? Turn back?

It was not yet too late, the Koltykwerpian quarrymen could
not have completed their task in so short a time, they would
hear my knock, they would tear down their wall of ice, and
Gelidus and Schneeboule would welcome us back to their ice
palace with a cold, but honest satisfaction.

As I sat there plunged in thought, I half unconsciously began
to twirl the sounding-rod around until I had sunk it half its
length into the floor of ice, and then reaching out I encircled
Bulger with my arm and drew him up against me as was my
wont when preparing for profound meditation.

I had scarcely done so when the ice beneath me gawe one of
those sharp, clear, cracking noises so unlike the sound made by
the breaking of any other substance ; and thereupon I felt the
crystal mass on which Bulger and I were sitting tremble and
vibrate for an instant, and then, with a sudden downward cant,
break away from the mass behind it and begin to move !

Instinctively a sense of my awful peril prompted me to cling
to the sounding-rod which I had sunk drill-like into the ice.
Luckily it was between my legs, and quick as a flash I intwined
them around it, assuming a Turkish sitting posture, while my
left arm was wrapped tightly around Bulger’s body.

I don’t know how it was done, done as it was all in an
instant ; but there I sat now firmly saddled, so to speak, upon
that crystal monster’s back, as with a creak and a crash it
snapped the crystal links which bound it to the wall of ice
and plunged headlong down the glassy slope.

In my fright I had dropped my lamp, and now the deep gloom
of this under world inwrapped me. But no, it was not so, for

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 211

as the escaping block of ice creaked and craunched its way
along, the two cold crystal surfaces gave forth a weird glimmer
of phosphorescent light which made the flying mass seem like a
monstrous living thing, out of whose thousand eyes were dart-
ing tongues of flame as it rushed madly along, now gaining
speed upon striking a steeper stretch of way, now fouling with
some obstruction and dashing against the rocky sides of the cor-
ridor, and sending a shower of crystals sparkling and glittering
in the black air !

Anon the escaping block comes upon a gentle slope, and with
the low music of crushing crystals slips softly along in its flight
as if mounted upon runners of polished steel, and then with a
sudden dip it glides upon a sharper descent and fairly leaps into
the air as it bounds along, hissing over the slippery roadway,
and leaving a train of fire behind it. And now it strikes a
stretch of way piled here and there with clumps and blocks of
ice.

With a mad fury it springs upon the lesser ones with a growl
of rage, grinding them to powder, which, like showers of icy
foam, it hurls upon Bulger and me seated on its back. But
some of the blocks resist its terrible onslaught and our mighty
steed is hurled from side to side with crash and creak, as it
drives its crystal corners fiercely against the jutting rocks,
leaving marks of its white flesh on these black heads of
adamant.

It seems an hour since the crystal monster broke away, and
yet ever downward he threads his wild flight, butting, bumping,
jostling, veering, staggering along, bearing Bulger and me to
the lowest level of the World within a World.

Will he never end his mad flight?

Is there no way for me to curb him ?

Must he fly until he has ground his very body to such* a thin-
ness that the next obstruction will shatter it into ten thousand
pieces, and hurl Bulger and me to death ?

As these thoughts are flitting through my mind, the flying

212 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

mass takes one last mad plunge which lands it on an almost
level stretch of roadwaj^ and by the different sound given out
by the sliding block, I know that we have left the regions of ice
behind us, and that our crystal sledge is gliding gently along
over a track of polished marble.

But, mile after mile, it still glides along, gently, softly,
silently, and then I dare to think that our lives are saved.

But so terrible had been the strain, so fearful the anxiety, so
exhausting the effort necessary to hold my place on the block
of ice, and keep my beloved Bulger from slipping out of my
arms, that I fell backward into a dead faint as the gliding mass
came, at last, to a standstill. I think I must have lain there a
good half hour or so ; for when I came to myself Bulger’s
frantic joy told me that he had been terribly wrought up over
me, and the moment I opened my eyes he began to shower
caresses on my hands and face in most lover-like style. Dear,
grateful heart, he felt that he owed his life this time to his
little master, and he wanted me to understand how thankful he
was.

The moment Bulger’s nerves had recovered from the shock
occasioned by my prolonged faint, I reached for my repeater
and touched its spring.

It registered one liour and a half since we had stepped
through the icy portal of King Gelidus’ domain. Allowing a
half-hour for the time I lay unconscious, it showed that our
mad descent on the back of the crystal monster had lasted quite
a full hour, and reckoning the average speed of the escaping
mass of ice to have been a mile and a half a minute, that we
were now in the neighborhood of ninety miles away from the
cold kingdom where Gelidus sat on his icy throne, and Princess
Schneeboule at his feet with Chillychops beside her.

It was with great difficulty that I could rise to my feet, so
stiffened were my joints and knotted my muscles after that ter-
rible ride, every instant of which I expected to be dashed to
pieces against projecting rocks, or torn to shreds by being caught

THE TROPICS OF THE UNDER WORLD

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A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 215

between the fleeing monster of ice and the gigantic icicles hang-
ing from the ceiling like the shining teeth of some huge creature
of this under world.

But could it be, dear friends, that Bulger and I had only
escaped a quick and merciful ending to be brought face to face
with a death ten times more terrible, in that it was to be slow
and gradual, denied even the poor boon of looking upon each
other, for darkness impenetrable was folded about us and silence
so deep that my ears ached in their longing for some sound to
break it. And yet there was something in the sound of my
own voice that startled me when I used it : it seemed as if the
awful stillness were angered at being disturbed by it, and smote
it back into my teeth.

Where are we ? This was the question I put to myself, and
then in my mind I strove to recall every word which I had read
in the musty pages of Don Fum’s manuscript concerning the
World within a World ; but I could recollect nothing to enlight-
en me, not a word to give me hope or cheer, and I was about to
cry out in utter despair when, happening to raise my eyes and
look off in the distance, I saw what seemed to me to be a jack-
a-lantern dancing along on the ground.

It was a strange and fantastic sight in this region of inky
darkness, and for a moment I stood watching it with bated
breath and wide-opened eyes ; but no, it could not be a will-
with-the-wisp, for now the faint and uncertain glimmer had
increased to a mild but steady glow, reaching away off in the
distance like a long line of dying camp-fires seen through an
enveloping mist.

But in a moment’s time this wide encircling ring of light had
so increased in brightness that it looked for all the world like a
break o’ day in the land o’ sunshine, and here and there where
its mild effulgence overcame the darkness of this subterranean
region, I caught sight of walls and arches and columns of snow-
white marble. And then as I called to mind Don Fum’s mys-
terious reference to “sunrise in the lower world,” I swung my

216 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

hat and gave a loud cry of joy, while Bulger waked the echoes
of these spacious caverns by his barking. I tell you, dear
friends, not until you have been in just such a plight can you
know just how such a rescue feels.

And now, no doubt, you are a bit anxious to know what sort
of a sunrise could possibly take place in this under world miles
below our own.

Well, when you have travelled as many miles as I have, and
seen as many wonders as I have, you’ll be ready to admit that
wonders are quite as commonplace as commonplace itself.
Know, then, that this vast region of the World within a World
was girt round about by a broad and placid stream whose watem
swarmed with vast numbers of gigantic radiate animals, such as
polyps, sea-urchins, Portuguese men-of-war, sea-anemones, and
the like ; that these transparent creatures, which had the power
of emitting light, after lying dormant for twelve hours, gradu-
ally unfolded their bodies and tentacles, and rose toward the
surface of these calm and limpid waters, increasing by degrees
their mysterious radiance, until they had chased the darkness
from the vast caverns opening upon the banks of the river, and
lighted up this under world with a soft effulgence somewhat
brighter than the rays of our full moon. For twelve houm
these weird lanterns of the stream made it day for this nether
world, and then, as they gradually shrank together and sank
out of sight, their expiring fires glowed with all the multi-
colored radiance of our fairest twilight, and the night, blacker
than Stygian darkness, came back again. But now ’twas full
daylight, and bidding Bulger follow me I walked in silent won-
der along the banks of this glowing stream, which, like a band
of mysterious fire, as far as my eye could reach went circling
around the white marble mouths of these vast underground
chambers.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 217

CHAPTER XXXr

IN WHICH YOU READ OF THE GLORIOUS CAVERNS OP WHITE
MARBLE FRONTING ON THE WONDERFUL RIVER. — IN THE
TROPICS OF THE UNDER WORLD. — HOW WE CAME UPON A

SOLITARY WANDERER ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER.

MY CONVERSATION WITH HIM, AND MY JOY AT FINDING
MYSELF IN THE LAND OF THE RATTLEBRAINS, OR HAPPY
FORGETTERS. — BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEM.

With every turn in the winding way that skirted the white
shores of this wonderful stream, its swarms of light-emitting
animals lent it a new beauty; for as the day advanced — if I
may so express it — they lifted their glowing bodies nearer and
nearer to the surface, until now the river shone like molten sil-
ver ; and as the sheer walls of rock on the opposite bank held
set in them vast slabs of mica, the effect was that these gigan-
tic natural mirroi’S reflected the glowing stream with startling
fidelity, and threw the flood of soft light in dazzling shimmer
against the fantastic portals of the white marble caverns on
this side of the stream. It was a scene never to forget, and
again and again I paused in silent wonder to feast my eyes upon
some newly discovered beauty. Now, for the first, I noted that
every white marble basin of cove and inlet was filled with a dif-
ferent glow, according to the nature of the tiny phosphorescent
animals which happened to fill its waters, — one being a delicate
pink, another a glorious red, the third a deep rich purple, the
fourth a soft blue, the fifth a golden yellow, and so on, the charm
of each tint being greatly enhanced by the snowy whiteness of
these marble basins, througb which long lines of curious fish
scaled in hues of polished gold and silver swam slowly along,
turning up their glorious sides to catch the full splendor of the

218

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

light reflected from the mica mirrors. And now the chilly
breath of King Gelidus’ domain no longer filled the air. I
stood in the tropics of the under world, so to speak ; and but one
thing was lacking to make my enjoyment of this fairy region
complete, and that was some one to share it with me.

True, Bulger had an idea of its beauty, for he testified his
happiness at being once more in a warm land by executing some
mad capers for my amusement, and by scampering along the
shore of the glowing river and barking at the stately fish as they
slowly fanned the water with their many colored fins ; but I
must admit that I longed for the Princess Schneeboule to keep
me company. But it was a rash wish ; for the warm air would
have thrown her into convulsions of fear, and she would have
preferred to meet her death in the cool river rather than attempt
to breathe such a fiery atmosphere. By this time I had ad-
vanced several miles along the white shores of the glowing
stream, and, feeling somewhat fatigued, I was about to sit down
on the jutting edge of a natural bench of rock, which seemed
almost placed on the river banks by human hands for human
forms to rest upon and watch the wonderful play of tints and
hues in this wide sweeping inlet, Avhen, to my amazement, I saw
that a human creature was already sitting there.

His eyes were fixed upon the water, and methought that his
face, which was gentle and placid, wore a tired look. Certainly
he was plunged into such deep meditation that he either took
or feigned to take no notice of my approach. Bulger was in-
clined to dash forward and attract his attention by a string of ear-
splitting barks, but I shook my head. This wanderer along the
glowing stream of day wore rather a graceful cloak-like garment,
woven of some substance that shimmered in the light, and so I
concluded that it must be mineral wool. His head was bare, and
so were his legs to the knees, his feet being shod with white
metal sandals tied on with what looked like leathern thongs.
All in all, he had a friendly though somewhat peculiar look
about him, and his attitude struck me as l)eing that of a person

THROUGH THE REVOLVING DOOR.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 221

either plunged into deep thought, or possibly listening for some
anxiously expected signal. At any rate, accustomed as I was
to meet all sorts of people on my travels in the four corners of
the globe, I determined to make bold enough to interrupt the
gentleman’s meditations and wish him good-morrow.

“ Whom have I the pleasure of meeting in this beautiful sec-
tion of the World within a World?”

The man looked at me in a dazed sort of way and replied, —

“ I really don’t know. I’m happy to say.”

“ But, sir, thy name ! ” I insisted.

“ Forgot it years ago,” was his remarkable answer.

“ But surely, sir,” I exclaimed rather testily, “ thou art not
the sole inhabitant of this beautiful under world, — thou hast
kinsman, wife, family ? ”

“ Ay, gentle stranger,” he replied in slow and measured
tones, “ there are people farther along the shore, and they are
good, dear souls, although I have forgotten their names, and I
have, too, a very faint recollection that two of those people are
sons of mine. Stop ! no, their names are gone from me too, I
forgot them the day my own name slipped from my mind ! ”
and as he uttered these words he threw his head back with a
sudden jerk and I heard a strange click inside of it, as if some-
thing had slipped from its place, and that instant a mysterious
expression used by that Master of Masters, Don Fum, flashed
through my mind.

Rattlebrains ! Yes, that was it; and now I felt sure that I was
standing in the presence of one of the curious folk inhabiting
the World within a World, to whom Don Fum had given the
strange name of Rattlebrains, or Happy Forgetters.

I was so delighted that I could barely keep myself from rush-
ing up to this gentle-visaged and mild-mannered person, whose
head had just given forth the sharp click, and grasping him by
the hand. But I feared to shock him by such a friendly greet-
ing, and so I contented myself with crying out, —

“ Sir, thou seest before thee none other than the famous trav-

222 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

eller, Baron Sebastian vonTroomp ! ” but to my great amazement
and greater chagrin he simply turned his strange eyes, with the
faraway look, upon me for an instant, and then resumed his con-
templation of the beautifully tinted sheet of water, as if I hadn’t
opened my mouth. It was the most extraordinary treatment that
I had experienced since my descent into the under world, and
I was upon the point of resenting it, as became a true knight and
especially a von Troomp, when Don Fum’s brief description of
the Rattlebrains, or Happy Forgetters, flitted through my mind.

Said he, “ By the exercise of their strong wills they have
been busy for ages striving to unload their brains of the to them
now useless stock of knowledge accumulated by their ancestors,
and the natural consequence has been that the brains of these
curious folk, who call themselves the Happy Forgetters, relieved
of all labor and strain of thought, have absolutely shrunken
rather than increased in size, so that with many of the Happy
Forgetters their brains are like the shrivelled kernel of a last
year’s nut and give forth a sharp click when they move their
heads suddenly with a jerk, as is often their wont, for they take
great pride in proving to the listener that they deserve the name
of Rattlebrain.

“ Nor do I need remind thee, O reader, ” concluded Don Fum,
in his celebrated work on the “ World within a World,” “ that the
chiefest among the Happy Forgetters is the man whose head
gives forth the loudest and sharpest click ; for he it is who has
forgotten most.”

You can have but a faint idea, dear friends, of my delight at
the prospect of spending some time among these curious people
— people who look with absolute dread upon knowledge as the
one thing necessary to get rid of before happiness can enter the
human heart.

No joy can equal the Happy Forgetter’s when, upon clasping a
friend’s hand, he finds that he has forgotten his very name ; and
no day is well spent in this land at the close of which the
inhabitant may not exclaim, —

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 223

“ This clay I succeeded in forgetting- something that I knew
yesterday ! ”

At last the Happy Forgetter rose from his seat and calmly
walked away, without so much as wishing me good-day ; but I
was resolved not to be so easily gotten rid of, so I called after
him in a loud voice, and Bulger, following, my example, raised a
racket at his heels, whereupon he faced about and remarked, —

“ Beg pardon, I had quite forgotten thee. I’m happy to say, and
thy name too. I’ve forgotten that ; let me see. Art thou a radiate? ”
(One of the animals in tlie water.) I was more than half in-
clined to lose my temper at this slur, classing me, a back-boned
animal, with a mere jelly-fish ; but under all the circumstances
I thought it best to control myself, for I could well imagine that
from the size of my head and the utter absence of all click in-
side of it, I was not destined to be a very welcome visitor among
the Happy Forgetters ; and therefore, swallowing my injured
feelings, I made a very low bow, and begged this curious gentle-
man to be kind enough to conduct me to his people — among
whom I wished to abide for a few days.

224 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

CHAPTER XXXII

HOW WE ENTERED THE LAND OF THE HAPPY FORGETTERS.
— SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THESE CURIOUS FOLK. — THEIR

DREAD OF BULGER AND ME. ONLY A STAY OF ONE DAY

ACCORDED US. — DESCRIPTION OF THE PLEASANT HOMES OF
THE HAPPY FORGETTERS. — THE REVOLVING DOOR THROUGH
WHICH BULGER AND I ARE UNCEREMONIOUSLY SET OUT-
SIDE OF THE DOMAIN OF THE RATTLEBRAINS. — ALL ABOUT
THE EXTRAORDINARY THINGS WHICH HAPPENED TO BUL-
GER AND ME THEREAFTER. — ONCE MORE IN THE OPEN
AIR OF THE UPPER WORLD, AND THEN HOMEWARD BOUND.

The Happy Forgetter pursued his way calmly along the
winding path that skirted the glowing river, apparently, and no
doubt really, unconscious of the fact that Bulger and I were
following close at his heels. After half an hour or so of this
silent tramp, he suddenly came to a standstill, and with his placid
countenance turned toward the light seemed to be so far away
in thougfht that for several moments I hesitated to address him.
But as there were no signs of his showing any disposition to
come to himself, 1 made bold to ask him the cause of the delay.

“ I’m happy to say,” he remarked, without so much as deign-
ing to turn his head, “ that I’ve forgotten which of these two
roads leads to the homes of our people.”

Well, this was a pleasant outlook to be sure, and, I don’t know
what we should have done had not Bulger solved the difficulty
for us by making choice of one of the paths and dashing on
ahead with a bark of encouragement for us to follow.

When I assured the Happy Forgetter that he need have no
fear as to the wisdom of the choice, he gave a start of almost

CAUGHT UP IN THE AKMS OK THE TOHRENT,

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 227

horror at the information ; for you must know, dear friends, that
the Happy Forgetter has more (h-ead of knowledge than we
have of ignorance. To liiin it is the mother of all discontent,
the source of all unhappiness, the cause of all the dreadful ills
that have come upon the world, and the people in it.

“The world,” said one of th^ Happy Forgetters to me sadly,
“ was perfectly happy once, and man had no name for his brother,
and yet he loved him even as the turtle-dove loves his mate, al-
though he has no names to call her by. But, alas, one day this
happiness came to an end, for a strange malady broke out among
the people. They were seized with a wild desire to invent names
for things ; even many names for the same thing, and different
ways of doing the same thing. This strange passion so grew
upon them that they spent their lives in making them in every
possible way harder to live. They built different roads to the
same place, they made different clothes for different days, and
different dishes for different feasts. To each child they gave
two, three, and even four different names ; and different shoes
were fashioned for different feet, and one family was no longer
satisfied with one drinking-gourd. Did they stop here ?

“ Nay, they now busied themselves learning how to make dif-
ferent faces to different friends, covering a frown with a smile,
and singing gay songs when their hearts were sad. In a few
centuries a brother could no longer read a brother’s face, and
one-half the world went about wondering what the other half
was thinking about; hence arose misunderstandings, quarrels,
feuds, warfare. Man was no longer content to dwell with his
fellow-man in the spacious caverns which kind nature had hol-
lowed out for him, piercing the mountains with winding
passages beside which his . narrow streets dwindled to merest
j)athways.”

In the Land of the Happy Forgetters care never comes to
trouble sleep, nor anxious thought to wear the dread mask of
To-morrow !

Happy the day on which this child of nature might exclaim :

2^8 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

“Since morn I’ve forgotten something! I’ve unloaded my
mind! It’s one thought lighter than it was ! ”

He was the happiest of the Happy Forgetters who could
honestly say, I know not thy name, nor when thou wast born,
not where thou dwellest, nor who thy kinsmen are ; I only know
that thou art my brother, and that thou wilt not see me suffer
if I should forget to eat, or perish of thirst if I forget to drink,
and that thou wilt bid me close my eyes if I should forget that
I had laid me down to sleep.

Bulger’s and my arrival in the Land of the Happy Forgetters
filled the hearts of these curious folk with secret dread. At
sight of my large head they all began to tremble like children
in the dark stricken with fear of bogy or goblin, and with one
voice they refused to permit me to sojourn a single brief half-
hour among them ; but gradually this sudden terror passed off
a bit, and after a council held by a few of the younger men, whose
brains as yet completely filled their heads, it was determined
that I might bide for another day in their land, but that then
the revolving door should be opened, and Bulger and I be thrust
outside of their domain.

From what Don Fum had written about the Happy Forget-
ters, I knew only too well that it would be useless for me to
attempt to reverse this decree ; so I held my peace, except
to thank them for this great favor shown me.

The daylight, if I may call it so, now began to wane, or rather
the thousands of light-giving creatures swarming in the river
now began to draw in their long tentacles, close their flower-
like bodies, and slowly sink to the bottom of the stream. I was
quite anxious to see whether the Happy Forgetters would make
any attempt to light up their cavernous homes, or whether they
would simply creep off to bed and sleep out the long hours of
pitchy darkness. To my surprise, I novr heard the clicking of
hints on all sides, and in a moment or so a thousand or more
great candles made of mineral wax with asbestos wicks were
lighted, and the great chambers of white marble. were soon aglow
with these soft and steady hames.

A MA/iVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 229

The Happy Forge tters were strictly vegetable eaters, feeding
upon the various fungous plants growing in these caverns in
great profusion, together with a very nutritious and pleasant
tasting jelly made from a hardened gum of vegetable origin
which abounded in the crevices of certain rocks. There was
still another source of food ; namely, the nests of certain shell-
fish, which they built against the face of the rock, just above
the surface of the river. These dissolved in boiling water
made an excellent broth, very much like the soup from edible
birds’ nests.

The clothes worn by the Happy Forge tters were entirely
woven from mineral wool, which in these caverns gave a long
and strong fibre of astonishing softness. The Rattlebrains were
tolerably good metal-workers too, but contented themselves with
fashioning only such articles as were actually necessary for
daily use. Their beds were stuffed with dried seaweed and
lichens, and Bulger and I passed a very comfortable night.

As I was forbidden to speak aloud, to ask a question, or to
walk abroad unless in company with one of the selectmen, I was
not sorry when the moment came for the revolving door to be
opened. The Happy Forgetters had been led to believe that
Bulger and I were a thousand times more dangerous than scaly
monsters or black-winged vampires, and hence they held them-
selves aloof from us, the children hiding behind their mothers,
and the mothers peering through crack and crevice at us.

The size of my head inspired them with a nameless dread,
and even the half-a-dozen of the younger and more courageous
drew aside instinctively to let me pass.

For the first time in my life I was an object of horror to my
fellow-creatures, but I had no hard thoughts against them!
Timid children of nature that they were, to them I was as ter-
rible an object as the torch-armed demon of destruction would
be to us were he let loose in one of our fair cities of the upper
world.

And now the guard of Happy Forgetters had halted in front

230 A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

of what seemed to me to be a huge cask fashioned of solid
marble, and set one-half within the white wall of the cavern to
which they had led me. But on second glance I saw that there
was a row of square holes around its bulge, like those in the
top of a capstan.

The Happy Forgetters now disappeared for a moment, and
when they joined me again each bore in hand a metal bar, the
end of which lie set in one of these holes, and then at a signal
from the leader the huge half-circle of marble began to turn
noiselessly around, exactly like a capstan. As each man’s lever
came to the wall, he shifted it to the front again. Suddenly, to
my amazement, 1 saw that the great marble cask was hollow,
like a sentry box ; and you may judge of my feelings, dear
friends, upon being politely requested to step inside.

Did I refuse to obey ?

Not I. It would have been useless, for was not the whole
tribe of Rattlebrains there to lay hands upon me and thrust me
in ?

So taking off my hat and making a low bow to the little
group of Happy Forgetters, I stepped within the hollow cask and
Bulger did the same ; but not with so good a grace as his master,
for, casting an angry glance at the inhospitable dwellers in these
chambers of white marble, he growled and laid bare his teeth to
show his contempt for them.

Now the great marble cask began to revolve the other way
and in a moment it was back in place again.

I heard several sharp clicks as if a number of huge spring
latches had snapped into place, and then all was silent as the
tomb, and I had almost said as dark too ; but no, I could not
say that, for I looked out into a low tunnel which ran past the
niche in which Bulger and I were standing, and to my more
than wonder it was dimly lighted.

I stepped out into it ; it was as round as a cannon bore and
just high enough for me to stand erect ; and now I discovered
whence the light proceeded. In the cracks and crevices of its

HU K LED OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

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A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY 233

walls grew vast masses of those delicate light-giving fungous
rootlets, the glow of which was so strong that I had no difficulty
in reading the writing on my tablets ; in fact, I stood there for
several minutes making entries by the light of these bunches of
glowing rootlets.

Then the thought flashed through my mind, —

“ Which way shall I turn, to the right or to the left? ”

Bulger comprehended the cause of my vacillation and made
haste to come to my rescue. After sniffing the air, first in one
direction and then in the other, he chose the right hand, and I
followed without a thought of (piestioning his wisdom. Strange
to say, he had not advanced more than a few hundred rods before
1 noticed that there was a strong current of air blowing through
the tunnel in the direction Bulger had taken.

Every moment it increased in violence, fairly lifting us from
our feet and bearing us along through this narrow bore made by
nature’s own hands and lighted too by lamps of her own fashion-
ing. The motion of the air through this vast pipe caused bursts
of mighty tones as if peeled forth by some gigantic organ played
by giant hands. It was strange, but yet I felt no terror as I
listened to this unearthly music, although its depth of tone jarred
painfully upon my ear-drums.

By the dim light of the luminous rootlets, I could see Bulg’d’
just ahead of me, and I was content. No shiver of fear ran down
my back, or robbed my limbs of their full power to resist the
ever-increasing pressure of the air. But as it grew stronger and
stronger, half of my own accord and half because Bulger set the
example, I broke into a run. Our pace once quickened it was
impossible for me to slow up again! On, on, in a mad race, my
feet scarcely touching the bottom of the tunnel, I sped along,
while the great pipe through which I was borne on the very
wings of the gale sent forth its deep and majestic peal.

There was something strangely and mysteriously exciting in
this race, and all that kept me from enjoying it to my full bent
was the thought that a sudden increase in the violence of the

234

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

blast might toss me violently on my face and possibly break an
arm for me or injure me in some serious way.

All at once the deep pealing forth of the organ-like tone ceased,
and in its stead came the awful sound of rushing water. Before
I had time to think, it was upon me, striking me like a terrific
blow from some gigantic fist wearing a boxing-glove. The next
instant I was caught up like a cork on a mountain torrent,
swayed from side to side, twisted, turned, sucked down and cast
up again, whirled over and over, tossed and tumbled, rolled along
like a wheel, my arms and legs the spokes !

Wonderful to relate, I did not lose consciousness as this
terrible current shot me like a stick of timber through a flume,
whither I knew not, only that the speed and volume went ever
on increasing until at last the tumultuous torrent filled the
tunnel, and robbed me of light, of breath, of life, of every-
thing, including my faithful and loving Bulger !

Ho\a' long it lasted — this fearful ride in the arms of these
mad waters, rushing as if for life or death through this narrow
bore — I know not; I oidy know that my ears were suddenly
assailed with a mighty whizz and rush of water as through the
nozzle of some gigantic hose, and that I was shot out into the
glorious sunshine, out into the grand, free, open air of the upper
world, and sent flying up toward the dear, blue sky with its
flecks of fleecy cloudlets, and Bulger some twenty feet ahead of
me, and that then, with a gracefully curved flight through the
soft and balmy air of harvest time, we both were gently dropped
into a quiet little lake nestled at the foot of a hillside yellow
with ripened corn. In a moment or so we liad swum ashore.
Bulger wanted to halt and shake the water from his thick
coat, but I couldn’t wait for that. Wet as he was, I clasped
him to my heart while he showered caresses on me. But not a
Avord was said, not a sound was uttered. We were both of us
too happy to speak, and if you have ever been in that state,
dear friends, you know how it feels.

I can’t describe it to you.

A MARVELLOUS UNDERGROUND JOURNEY

235

At tins moment some men and boys clad in the garb of the
Russian peasant came racing across the fields to see what I was
about, no doubt, for I had stripped off my heavy outside cloth-
ing, and was spreading it out in the sun to dry.

Upon sight of these red-cheeked children of the upper world
I was so overcome with joy that for a minute or so I couldn’t
get a syllable across my lips, but making a great effort I cried
out, —

“ Fathers I Brothers ! Where am I ? Speak I dear souls I ”

“ In north-eastern Siberia, little soul,” replied the eldest of
the party, “ not far from the banks of the Obi ; but whence
comest thou ? By Saint Nicholas, I believe thou wast spit out
of the spouting well I What art thou doing here alone?”

I paid no attention to the question. I was thinking of some-
thing else of more importance to me, to wit: my splendid
achievement, the marvellous underground journey I had just
completed, fully five hundred miles in length, passing com-
pletely under the Ural Mountains I After a short stay at the
nearest village, I engaged the best guide that Avas to be had, and
crossing the Urals by the pass in tlie most direct line, re-entered
Russia and made haste to join the first government train on its
Avay to St. Petersburg.

Having despatched an avafit courier Avith letters to my be-
loved parents, informing them of my good liealth and Avhere-
abouts, I passed several Aveeks very pleasantly in the Russian
capital, and then by easy stages set out for home.

The elder baron came as far as Riga to meet me, and brought
me the best of news from Castle Trump, that my dear mother
Avas in perfect health, and that she and every man, Avoman, and
child in and about the castle Avere anxiously Availing to give me
a reiil German Avelcome back home again. And here, dear
friends, mit herzliehen Griisse, Bulger and I take our leave of
you.

I •

Little Baroi Trip M His Woiflerffl M Bilier

PRESS NOTICES

BOSTON TI3IES. “ Mr. Ingersoll Lockwood is nothing if not original — and he
is original. The most partial critic would not dare to deny him that desirable
gift after a glance at his ‘ Little Baron Trump.’ Like tlie great Munchausen,
the little Baron has a passion for travel, a lust of adventure, a fever of imagina-
tion. He sees, says, and does queer things; accidents never heard of outside the
lunatic asylums and Mr. Lockwood's pages test his resources at every hand ; to
‘grapple with an emergency ’ is beneath him — he simply walks over it. We
owe Mr. Lockwood thanks, too, for tliat he has neglected to wrap a moral
around his tales, and has given us simply a delightful example of the art of
sustained fooling.”

UTICA HERALD. ” A book which might easily be rated one of the posthumous
cliapters of the ‘ Arabian Nights,’ so far as its style goes, and possessing, as the
little Baron observes, ‘ an almost Oriental exuberance of fancy.’ The pictures
by Mr. Edwards are very comical, and as ingenious as they are quaint. But
they are hardly as wonderful as the doings of the young Baron and his more
wonderful confidant, Bulger. Surely never was such another dog as he.”

NATIONAL TRIBUNE. “ The travels and adventures of Baron Trumpand the
bulldog are indeed extraordinary, even more so tlian those of ‘ Sinbad the
Sailor.’ The book is full of quaint humor, side-splitting at times. The Baron
is an extremely precocious youngster, and Bxilger, though he cannot talk, is
gifted with the worldly wisdom and acuteness of a Prime Minister.”

WOMAN’S CYCLE. “ Poor ISIunchausen won his reputation in the nick of time.
A few generations later and he would have had no chance atall. His inventive
genius would have fallen below that of a reporter for a ‘ great’ daily. Imagi-
nation is accustomed nowadays to astounding flights. It performs a series of
them in this book, which is also illustrated so comically as to make the small
boy sit on the floor and wriggle with delight, while his elders guffaw boister-
ously. It is, in fact, a ‘ funny ’ book.”

NEW YORK SUN. “A very whimsical and ingenious tale is that entitled
‘ Little Baron Trump and His Wonderful Dog Bulger.’ Young or old readers
will appreciate the humor of the author. The illustrations by George Wliarton
Edwards admirably supplement the text.

ALTA CALIFORNIAN. “Heathen mythology, ‘ The Arabian Nights,’ and the
modern fairy tale are brought to mind by the wonderful scenes, but there is no
evidence of plagiarism, startling originality being far more in the author’s line
than surreptitious imitation. Many of the marvels are ingeniously founded on
the scientific theories of recent years, and satires on popular shortcomings
or delusions are conveyed in the guise of some perilous experience. The author
has evidently given full but harmless rein to an original and prolific imagi-
nation.”

PORTL.VND TELEGRAM. “One of the most interesting stories for young
people ever issued by an American publisher. Its humor is contagious, its fun
rollicking, while the variety and astonishing nature of the experiences of the
pair holds the reader captive until the end. The illustrations by Wharton Ed-
wards lend an added charm to the work.”

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston

Little Baroi Trip aii His Woaflerfal Doi Balpr

PRESS NOTICES

N.Y. TRIBUNE. “ Mr. Lockwood’s clever book, though modelled, no doubt, on
Munchausen’s narrative, has a whimsical originality of invention which the
first Baron might have envied. It is a question whether the very youthful
reader will fully appreciate all the fun which an older reader finds therein ; hut
it is certain that the book will not be dropped until the last prodigious adven-
ture is absorbed. As a book of fantastic impo.ssibilities, gravely set forth, it is
the most attractive devised in many a season.’ ’

PUBLIC OPINION. “ One of the jolliest and most rollicking stories of the
year. It is an old-time children’s story, full of marvel, mystery, and adventure.
The author, Ingersoll Lockwood, has succeeded in writing a capital boy’s book
that is at once fascinating and wholesome, as well as being good literature.
The abundant illustrations, drawn by George Wharton Edwards, are admirably
executed, and form a strong re-enforcement to the interest as well as the
beauty of the work.”

SACRAMENTO BEE. “A clean, well written, interesting children’s book, hut
its adventures are so wonderful and so quaintly told that many a parent who
would buy the hook as a Christmas present for his children would he beguiled
into reading it for his own amusement.”

ST. PAUL DISPATCH. “ It is a fanciful tale with a healthy tone throughout.
Moreover, it is put in an attractive form, the cover being an unique combination
of gray, black and brown, while the print is clear and the illustrations very at-
tractive. ‘ Bulger ’ was Little Baron Trump’s companion from his birth; the
relation of his attachment for his master and their adventures among strange
peoples and in new countries is very entertaining. The book will be heartily
welcomed by both boys and girls, and it is a safe book to place in their hands.”

BROOKLYN EAGLE. “ A delightfully absurd and sarcastic boy’s story is
‘ Little Baron Trump and His Wonderful Dog Bulger,’ with equally absurd and
wonderful illustrations. It is as remarkable for its powers of absurdity as
■‘Gulliver’s Travels’ or ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ if not so sarcastic as the first,
and the illustrations are not merely absurd travesties, but works of art charac-
teristically and in drawing. Bulger is truly a wonderful dog, but no more won-
derful than his phenomenally brainy young master and the great variety of
preposterous people he falls in with.”

CHRISTIAN STANDARD. “ One of those strange, whimsical, julesvernish
romances which, while they have neither mission nor moral, jdot or purpose,
are strangely fascinating to children. This quaint and curious volume of never-
to-be-forgotten lore is rendered the more attractive by numerous grotesque,
giggles-begetting illustrations, by George Wharton Edwards.”

HEALTH AND HOME. ‘‘This work will delight both young and old. It
gives a series of ludicrous adventures of the Little Baron and his famous dog
that are not only amusing, but, in many cases, point useful morals. It contains
over 300 pages, all of which brim over with genuine humor, and is just the book
for boys who are wearing their first pants, or even of a larger growth.”

MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE. ‘‘A romance of wonderland, for old and young.
It would be difficult to find a volume of adventures which would surpass Mr.
Lockwood’s presentations of the wonders of travel, and of the deeds of the
valiant heroes who trumpet their bravery and daring after laughable and
amusing style.”

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston

PRESS NOTICES

CLEVELAND PLAINDEALER. “ Ingersoll Lockwood, who delighted and be-
wildered readers young and old with those queer extravaganzas, ‘ Little Baron Trump ’
and ‘ Little Giant Boab,’ has perpetrated another joke of the same kind in his ‘ Extra-
ordinary Experiences of Little Captain Doppelkop on the Shores of Bubbleland.’ The
boy, who was twins in himself, a sort of juvenile Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, has a lot
of surprising and comical adventures that are narrated hy himself — or perhaps we
ought to say more truthfully, though ungrammatically, ‘ themself’ — with delightful
simplicity.”

BOSTON HOME JOURNAL, “For its quaint conceptions it has neverbeen sur-
passed, if equalled, by anything of the kind. The idea of creating a character like
that of Little Captain Doppelkop was a great stroke of genius. The adventures of
the Little Captain in Bubbleland are of the most marvellous character, and constantly
lead from one surprise to another still more surprising, and they are related with a
sparkle and naturalness that keep the reader’s high interest continually on the top-
most round of expectancy. If Mr. Lockwood can beat his own record on this ex-
travaganza, then he will indeed stand the champion imaginator of the world.”

NORTHWESTERN MAGAZINE. “ Ingersoll Lockwood has quite outdone him-
self this time. The trouble is there are 287 large pages of pure enjoyment and fun
for your open-mouthed boys, and the small ones won’t let you stop till you’ve read
them every one, not to speak of letting them take the book at eveiy page or two to
look at the droll pictures which Clifton Johnson has so fitted to the text. ‘Little
Captain Doppelkop ’ was two children rolled into one, and their adventures in
Glaucus’ Gluepot, Bubbleland, the Castle of Indolence, and elsewhere — all kept even
poor old me interested. The book is bound prettily in gray -green, touched up with
darker and gold ; just the book for jmur boy’s Xmas tree.”

THE HOUSEKEEPER. “‘Little Captain Doppelkop,’ being the extraordinary
experiences of the oddest and most amusing little fellow that ever made or found his
way from wonderful babyhood and its mysteries out into the big, crazy world.
Ingersoll Lockwood, the author of this book, makes it his business to stow away a
lot of sense into a hundred small packets of nonsense, so that the boy or girl who
reads the three hundred pages that tell all about the impossible absurdities of the
little Captain will be the happier and the wiser.”

BOSTON COURIER. “This we confess to finding one of the most amusing and in-
genious books of its kind that has been written in our time. It is spontaneous and
sparkling, and there is throughout an unfailing succession of novel surprises such as
only the most fantastically fertile fancy could have devised. The central idea, that of
the boy who was really two persons, is a capital one, good enough to make the fortune
of any book, and it is capitally carried out.” •

NEW LONDON TELEGRAPH. “‘Little Captain Doppelkop’ is an extrava-
ganza as curious as was ever conceived and depicted in prose and picture. Ingersoll
Lockwood showed in ‘ Little Baron Trump’ how possible it was to be a delightful yet
perfectly unobjectionable Munchausen. ‘ Little Captain Doppelkop,’ from beginning
to end, is filled with entrancing and absorbing adventures, and the facile pencil fully
supplements the pen. No such work lias been attempted by American writers, and
the great success which attended Mr. Ingersoll in his former achievement cannot fail
to be repeated now. The spirit, energy, and simple way in which the narrative seems
to hug the possible render it so effective that whoever takes it up finds himself turning
page after page until he unwillingly comes to the last.”

BOSTON GLOBE. “ ‘ Little Captain Doppelkop ’ — why ‘ Doppelkop ’ it is necessaiy
to read — is bound to be a tremendous success, and deserves a place as a child’s classic
with those which delighted our boyhood.”

*LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston

Little M Boat] aifl His UM RaFee Tai

PRESS NOTICES

NEW YORK TRIBUNE. “‘The Wonderful Deeds and Doings of Little
Giant Loah and his Talking Raven Tabib * takes higher rank than any other
book of the season intended for young people, .and is indeed even cleverer than
its amusing predecessor, which recounted the adventures of Baron Trump and
his delightful dog Bulger. In this story of a mighty young Spanish giant, Tabib, the
raven, plays the guiding, protecting, and humorous part taken by Bulger in Mr.
Ingersoll Lockwood’s first story, and his somewhat cynical shrewdness and hearty
affection for his master make the ‘little gentleman in black ’ a very winning figure.
With the luunorous tone of the book is blent a sweet and kindly spirit that much
enhances the charms of its wild adventures.”

CRITIC, NEW YORK. “ ‘ Boab’ is short for Boabdil de Clavigero, and the appella-
tive ‘ Little Giant’ but faintly indicates the prodigies of strength and valor performed
by this marvellous child. In an elaborately erudite introduction, bristling with
indisputable citations in black-letter from sixteenth-century travellers, our clever
author seeks to dispel any possible doul)t as to the real existence of his hero. In-
genious Mr. Lockwood! don’t you know that the da}' is past when we youngsters
used to cpieiy ‘ Is it true ? ’ t'ew will concern themselves, as they follow with
breathless eagerness the career of this precocious boy, to discover the dividing line
between fact and fancy. There seems to be no limit to the author’s imagination,
and Boab is brought bravely out of one combination of pjrils only to be involveil in
another still more alarming. Nothing is impossible to his strong arm and quick wit,
and whether shouldering a massive castle-door, or tripping up El Gran Capitan and
pinning him to the floor with a two-ton statue, or vanquishing the frightful mau-liat,
or getting ahead of the wall of living stones, or driving the cardinal through night and
tempest, over the mountains to the Malaga, he is in all the same plucky, invincible,
good-natured little fellow — with whom every year will be loth to part. Fun, novelty,
satire, pathos— these are a few of the elements that make this a most attractive book
for the young.”

BROOKLYN STANDARD UNION. “It is a pretty hard thing to invent a
really new fairy tale, so completely has the ground been gone over by the old veteran
story-tellers; but in ‘Little Giant Boab’ Mr Lockwood has given the young folk a
tale which is in many respects original, which contains many new situations and in-
genious inventions, which is whimsical to the last degree, full of subtle humor and
rollicking fun. It is a delightful tale, that will be quite as successful as ‘ Little
Baron Trump and his Wonderful Dog Bulger,’ which made such a hit last season.
The funny and wonderful doings of Giant Boab and his tuven, with the humorous
siccount of Boab’s ancestors, his appcai’ancc in Queen Isabel’s court, his feats
of strength, his exploits in the Spanish camp, together with all his subsequent journey-
ings, will be read and listened to and talked over in many a household during the com-
ing holidays. The illustrations, too, are in admirable keeping with the spirit of the
story, and fitly supplement as well as adorn the text. Giant Boab is destined to be a
formidable rival to Baron Munchausen himself.”

BOSTON BEACON. “ Ingersoll Lockwood has seized an old ^Moorish legend and
made use of it to furnish a first-rate fairy tale which will delight the children almost
as much as older folk are delighted with ‘Don Quixote.’ Little (iiantBoab is as inter-
esting a character as Hop O’My Thumb of Englisli birth, and incidental to his advent-
ures valuable insight into the customs and ways of Spain is atforded. The book has
many wood-cuts by Clifton Johnson. !Mr. l^ockwood displays astonishing versatility,
unlimited powers of invention, unfailing humor, and a satirical purpose which seems
to be so closely interwoven with the whole narrative that its force depends altogether
on the reader’s capacity of comprehension. Like Swift’s ‘ Gulliver’ tales, the stories
of the exploits of the Little Giant will be a source of unending entertainment to the
young, while their elders will relish the clever manner in which all sorts of human
weaknesses are exhibited in the light of wholesome ridicule. Mr. Clifton Johnson
has added a large number of illustrations admirably suited to the text.”

ZION’S IIFIRALD. “This is a fairy tale which will especially delight the children.
Tabib was a sly and cunning bird, but Boab was a good and brave boy; and putting
these two together and setting them off, to take together whatever adventtircs may
befall them, is sure to create a fascinating interest in them for the young. And then,
too, the pictures are so many, and in many cases so funny, that this will be another
source of pleasure to tlie reader,”

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston

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